A Summer Not So Endless: Scholarship Edition
by Bullworth
Summary: A re-written version of a fic I posted years ago. The summer after the game is a hot one as personal lives clash with one another. Rated T for Some Violence, Underage Drinking and Drug Use, Some Strong Language, and Sexual Themes.
1. Moving Out and Into Your Life, Part 1

**Bullworth: A Series**

 **Part One: Summer Not So Endless**

 **Author's Note: A follow-up series to Bully. Published years ago on this account but re-written by a revitalized author.**

Chapter One: Moving Out and Into Your Life, Part 1

Peter Kowalski sat in his dorm room, his hands absent-mindedly playing with a string that had sprung from his pants sometime during the course of the school year. He wanted to congratulate Jimmy for taking down Gary, but he just couldn't. No matter how hard he tried when Jimmy emerged from that building victorious and the student body cheered, in that moment forgetting about the all out chaos that had plagued the school. He wanted to feel good that he was the reason Jimmy took Gary down, but his stomach was tying itself in knots and his brain kept asking one question over and over: _What if you were wrong?_

Pete snapped out of his thoughts when he heard knock at the door. "Mr.-oh what the devil is his name Hopkins? Well?" Pete heard Dr. Crabblesnitch's voice and wondered what he could want, then he looked across his room; the other side of it trampled and ransacked by angry teenagers because of who that side of the room belonged to, it occurred to him they only wanted to speak to him because he was Gary's roommate. _Like anyone would want to talk to you otherwise_ , _Petey._ Pete's brained snarked in a voice that sounded a bit like Gary's.

"It's Kowalski, sir," Jimmy said with an air of fake pleasantry Pete only assumed would win him a Golden Raspberry Award one day if hell froze over and he decided to pursue acting.

"Right, of course. Mr. Kowalski, if you're in there I have something very urgent to discuss with you," Crabblesnitch proposed, his air of fake pleasantry obviously more well rehearsed than Jimmy's.

"Y-yeah, come on in," Sometimes Pete really hated the sound of his own voice. In some ways puberty was kind to him, but what he lacked in acne he made up for in a short stature and a voice that cracked when he was nervous. Crabblesnitch walked in like he owned the place, which Pete guessed was right since he was the headmaster after all, and Jimmy followed with an expression that could only be described as a cat that caught the canary and washed it down with milk.

"Oh dear, I trust this room was not in this state before today's events," Crabblesnitch drawled with an accusatory tone. It was obvious to Pete that Crabblesnitch wasn't doing this of his own accord, he was internally fighting tooth and nail to not have to and as a result was looking for an excuse for a hasty exit.

"No! I mean, no it wasn't. Some guys got in here about an hour ago and completely trashed G-" the name stuck in his throat and a sound that would have been akin to a sob would have escaped his throat if he didn't have the self-control. "Gary's side of the room. I ran them off though, they had started going through my stuff," Pete recalled Trent Northwick running out of the room with a pair of Pete's underwear sticking out of his pocket, Pete had been too dumbstruck by the day's events to call him out.

"Well, given the circumstances I don't think I'm going to hold them accountable for their actions. Hive mentality and so forth," Crabblesnitch said, looking at Pete's desk and picked up a copy of The Lord of the Flies they were to read for English class. "How appropriate," He chuckled.

"Yeah yeah, we get it. The book is similar to what happened here today, so can we please get to the point of the visit?" Jimmy burst out impatiently, bouncing on his heels. Pete, surprised by this outburst, thought it rude but he quickly squashed the feeling when he remembered Jimmy's lack of patience with authority figures. Crabblesnitch turned around and the two stared at each other for a long while. Crabblesnitch finally backed down, and cleared his throat.

"Quite right. My reason for this visit is to inform you that you have been appointed to the position of Head Boy next term if you choose to come back to our fine school," Crabblesnitch said, beaming like he had just given Pete the keys to the city.

Meanwhile, Zoe Taylor sat in the secretary's office with apprehension. Ms. Danvers was drawing up papers for her to enroll in the Summer School program while radiating an aura of disapproval as she typed away on her computer. Zoe wanted so badly to say something to the nasty hag but held her tongue, knowing she might not get back into school if she did.

"I just spoke with your father about tuition costs, he has agreed to put it up for the summer semester as well as the upcoming school year," Ms. Danvers stared at her through a pair of rather hideous coke bottle glasses, and Zoe couldn't help but marvel at how judgmental her stare was for a woman who pined after a married man day after day.

"Thank you, Ms. Danvers," Zoe said, trying not to sneer.

"But I did have to dig into your school file to get this information. On your application you only list two names on your emergency contact information. The first is, of course, your brother and the second is an Amy Barkeley? Is she a relative? I do have forms that need to be signed," Miss Danvers asked in a very matter-of-fact tone. Zoe knew she was trying to provoke a reaction out of her, but she wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

"No, Ms. Danvers. I became legally emancipated after I was kicked out of school last year. I got a job at a clothing store in New Coventry. To be perfectly honest I'm surprised my dad is paying my tuition at all."

"...Oh. Well then, I guess I won't need those signatures after all."

Zoe took the paperwork and sat back down, pulling a pen out of her bag and quickly scribbled down her own signature on the forms. After she finished, Ms. Danvers took the paperwork back from her and spoke.

"Classes start next Monday at nine sharp every morning. Mrs. Phillips will be your, excuse Mrs. Phillips-Galloway will be your instructor, you will be meeting in the art room. Do you remember where that is or do I need to give you the room number?"

Zoe forced a smile. "I remember, thank you."

Ms. Danvers pushed her glasses up her nose then slid the paperwork into Zoe's folder, looking down.

"Well, I guess I will see you on Monday, Ms. Danvers," Zoe turned to leave but Miss Danvers spoke, her tone uncertain.

"Ms. Taylor," Ms. Danvers began.

"Yes?" Zoe said, turning around just as she reached the doorway.

"Your father asked me to tell you that he wants to see you soon. He says his number hasn't changed."

Zoe nodded and was about to head for the stairs when Ms. Danvers spoke again.

"Also, about...Mr. Burton. Will you be pressing charges?" Ms. Danvers was unable to meet Zoe's eyes.

"I haven't decided yet. I know Dr. Crabblesnitch fired him," Zoe replied, unsure of Ms. Danvers' intention.

"Well...if it were up to me, you would," Ms. Danvers finally met Zoe's eyes with a smile in her eyes.

Jimmy Hopkins walked out of the boy's dorm with his luggage as Zoe made her way down from the main building, meeting in the middle of the expansive campus. Jimmy gave her a full on grin and they clasped hands, turning around and walking towards the gate. The silence was pleasant, with a dash of the awkwardness a new relationship can bring. They reached the gate and stood silently, a warm breeze that warned the beginning of summer floated through the New England air. They both began to speak and then laughed quietly, Jimmy motioning for Zoe to go first.

"Your mom picking you up?"

"At the airport, I'm taking a bus to Liberty City to meet her and the new Rockefeller at the airport, then we're going home," Jimmy replied. Zoe squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"It probably won't be that bad. Those news cameras were all in your face, you're gonna be national news as a hero by tomorrow. Maybe it'll go viral."

Jimmy laughed, "Maybe, I didn't exactly make a good impression on the stepmonster. What about you, did everything go well? Registered for summer school?"

"Yeah, and get this, my dad is actually paying my tuition for the year. He wants to meet me which I'm not looking forward to but if I want to get back into school…" Zoe trailed off, Jimmy looked concerned and she didn't want to go into more detail so she changed the subject, "Ms. Danvers might not be as awful as I remember which was weird but still, how can she act like she's so much better than everyone else? She's been wanting to hop on Crabblesnitch's dick for ages and has like...no shame about it."

"I thought I was the only one that noticed that! Sadly that's not the sleaziest staff relationship in this place. Edna and-" Zoe kissed Jimmy awkwardly, cutting off his remark about the cook's new squeeze. Zoe pulled away looking more bashful than she would ever admit, and Jimmy had a dopey grin on his face.

"Sorry, I just..." Zoe began but faltered.

"Didn't want to hear about who Edna's boffing?" This reply earned Jimmy a playful shove to the chest.

"No-well, yes I didn't want to hear that, but...God this is so embarrassing," Zoe said, turning away from Jimmy.

"What is it?" Jimmy said, putting his hand on Zoe's shoulder. She shrugged it away.

"It's just...that's the last time I'm going to get to kiss you for three months. September is a long time away, and I guess I'm...shit I'm worried you'll meet someone else, okay! Go ahead, laugh at me! Well?" Zoe turned around and stared at Jimmy expectantly.

Jimmy chuckled and instantly knew it was not a good way to react because Zoe's eyes went wide and she started backing up, Jimmy quickly grabbed her shoulders.

"No, no, no. I didn't mean that, I laughed because it's ridiculous, Zoe I'm crazy about you. I'm not going to meet anyone else," Jimmy put his arm around Zoe's shoulder and they began the walk towards Bullworth Town.

"Besides, I'm coming back here in three months. How stupid would it be to meet someone else three hundred miles away and come back to see you every day," Jimmy said with a smirk, and was hoisted by his shoulders by Zoe trying to shove him in front of a car. He hooked a leg in between hers to trip her to prevent this, and the two fell, Zoe landing on top of Jimmy.

"Jerk."

Zoe got up first and pulled Jimmy up roughly, "Come on loser, what time is your bus leaving?"

"Seven, Petey said he was going to see me off but he hasn't finished packing I guess. I sent Beatrice after him, just warning you now, I know you don't like her," Jimmy rushed that last part out and Zoe glared at him.

"Really Jim? Why her? You told me she writing all sorts of stuff about you in that pervy little diary of hers. You want that bunny boiler still following you around next year?"

Jimmy smiled. Zoe looked at him, confused.

"I took care of it. I think she's got a thing for Petey now. It'll do him some good to get a girl this summer, make some new friends," Zoe shook her head at Jimmy's explanation as they continued their trek towards the town.

"I dunno Jim. Did you see how Pete looked when they took Gary out on that stretcher? Dude looked worse than that Edgar that time he thought huffing paint was a good idea".

"I know, Zoe. His attachment to Gary was just creepy, he needs to get away with that. Besides, if he isn't interested in Beatrice, I could always set him up with someone else.

Back in the boys dorm, Pete zipped his suitcase up as Gary's parents walked into the room. Normally move-out day would be a happy occasion. Pete had pictured it many times; Gary would be bouncing around the room, excited about some prank he'd leave behind for some unfortunate maintenance staff member to find and be possibly injured. Pete would be smiling quietly, looking forward to seeing him next year. That wasn't the case this time.

This time, Gary's parents cleaned out his stuff, with Crabblesnitch and a police escort. Gary's mother started crying when she discovered the word 'PSYCHO' carved into his desk. Gary's father's face was cold, it reminded Pete of Gary's face when he was angry. There was obviously something wrong just under the surface.

Pete averted his eyes from the scene in front of him, it being the polite thing to do. His eyes fell on a photo tacked inside the wardrobe, one of happier times. It was Gary and Pete at the carnival, Gary's arm slung around Pete's shoulders. Pete could still remember how intimate it felt, the warm feeling in his stomach rising to his chest when Gary touched him like that.

Gary's parents took his clothes out of the wardrobe and stacked his schoolbooks on the desk, Gary's mother still shaking. Crabblesnitch picked up an item off the desk, and showed it to Pete. Pete stared at it, a bronze plaque that read 'Head Boy'.

"It looks like this belongs to you now. I was wondering where this was, during all this chaos I had forgotten I had appointed Smith to the job," Crabblesnitch said. He handed it to Pete, who took it with some apprehension.

"G-Gary, he was...Head Boy?" Mrs. Smith had a glimmer of hope and it crushed Pete inside.

"For a little while, Mrs. Smith. He had manipulated all of us into believing he was a good kid," Crabblesnitch replied. Gary's dad finally lost it.

"How did he do this? He's a fifteen year old boy for Christ's sake! Why wasn't someone making sure he was taking his meds! We left strict orders for that. He's been here long enough for you to know what can happen when he doesn't take them," Mrs. Smith broke down in tears again and Mr. Smith put his arms around her.

"We found his medical files, someone had altered them to take out the information that said he needed to be supervised when he took his meds. Mrs. Smith, sometimes kids fall through the cracks here. We had no idea he would be capable of something like this, and on behalf of the Bullworth School District, I am sorry we allowed this to happen," Crabblesnitch said, an obviously rehearsed line.

"Fallen through the cracks? That's your excuse? Unbelievable you son of a-"

"Patricia," Gary's dad cut her off, "This isn't going to fix anything. Obviously the man has a difficult job and is rather incapable of doing it. We'll be in touch,"

Patricia Smith composed herself. "You're right, Charles. Dr. Crabblesnitch, Officer, Peter," Her eyes locked on Pete and he turned bright red. She had Gary's stare as well, apparently. She turned to the wardrobe to see if there was anything missed, and her eyes met the photo. Pete's heart leapt to his throat.

"I'm sure you'll want to keep this," Patricia began, taking the picture down and handing it to Pete.

She took his hand and smiled sadly, "You were always such a good friend to our son."

"Thank you, Mrs. Smith," Pete said. Patricia dropped his hand and Charles picked up Gary's bags.

"Goodbye, gentlemen," Charles said, and Pete didn't know why he spoke up.

"Wait, Mr. and Mrs. Smith-" They stopped and turned around.

"Yes, Peter?" Patricia questioned, both her and Charles' eyes boring holes into him.

"Where...where is Gary?" Pete said quietly, hating the sound of his own voice.

"He's at Happy Volts Asylum for the time being. He's in a seventy-two hour psychiatric evaluation then we'll discuss if he needs to be treated there further with the doctors afterwards," Charles replied curtly.

"After the...evaluation," Pete started and almost stopped speaking, but he knew he needed to continue, "Will he be allowed visitors?"

"Now Mr. Kowalski I don't think that's very appropriate-" Crabblesnitch started but Patricia cut him off.

"It's a _very_ appropriate question Dr. Crabblesnitch and I would appreciate it if you didn't speak for us," Patricia snapped, glaring at the offending man. She turned her gaze back to Pete and smiled warmly, "It all depends on how the evaluation goes. If it goes well, I'm sure he'll be allowed visits. Supervised visits of course, and I'm sure he would be very happy to see you. It would probably do him some good to see some friendly faces."

Pete smiled, "Thank you, Mrs. Smith. And I am so sorry this happened. If I would have known it would go this far-" Patricia raised a hand to cut him off.

"We don't blame you, Peter. You're just a kid, and believe me, there are others that need held far more accountable for their actions," And with that, the Smiths exited the room with the police escort.

"Well, I never," Crabblesnitch started, then he looked at Pete like he had forgotten he was there. "Despite what they said, I don't think you need to associate with the Smith child. It would be unbecoming behavior of the Head Boy."

Pete glared at Crabblesnitch and picked up the plaque, handing it back to him. "Then you should probably hold that until September, but I can guarantee if you try to find a replacement for me nearly every kid in this school is going to do far worse this summer then visit a mentally ill friend."

Crabblesnitch opened his mouth to say something and closed it, then looked down at the plaque in his hands. He walked out of the dorm room, and Pete heard a frustrated scream outside that sounded a lot like an f-bomb. Pete smirked, maybe Jimmy was rubbing off on him after all.

Pete looked down at the photo in his hand, and let the memory of that day overtake him.

* * *

The flash went off and Pete tried not to blink. Gary's arm around him felt uncomfortable, but really nice at the same time. Pete didn't want to admit to himself how much he enjoyed it, mostly because it was Gary's arm of all guys...people.

"Alright, I got it," Jimmy said, looking down at the Polaroid camera. He took the picture out and handed it to Pete, but Gary snatched it out of Jimmy's hand, smirking at Jimmy's look of disapproval.

"Well, it looks like the gorilla might find an occupation outside of pumping gas one day after all. This is pretty good, Hopkins," Gary smirked. Jimmy stepped forward and raised his fist and Pete stepped between them.

"Jimmy, you should know by now that's the closest thing to a compliment you're going to get from him. Now both of you, stop," Pete looked at both of them when he said this, and for a moment it seemed like the tension was going to culminate in a fight, but Gary finally backed off and slapped the picture to Pete's chest.

"Hold onto that Petey, would you? It better not go to your spank bank though," Gary said, already walking towards the Ferris wheel. Pete made an indignant noise but pocketed the picture. He slumped his shoulders and started to follow Gary but Jimmy's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Why do you put up with that?" Jimmy asked, his brow furrowed.

"Put up with what Jimmy?" Pete asked, not wanting to have this conversation, shrugging off the offending limb and continuing on his path.

"Don't act like you don't know. He treats you like shit, Pete. He's always saying shit like that to you. It's not cool," Jimmy replied and Pete turned around.

"Why do you put up with it, Jimmy? You just got here. You could get other friends easily but you're still hanging out with losers like me. Everyone acts like I can't stand up for myself but I can when I need to. It's just easier with him when I don't," Pete said. Jimmy stared down at the shorter teen.

"That's really screwed up. And you know what, Pete? The only reason you're a loser is because you're letting him treat you like one. Maybe if you'd stop taking care of him you could get yourself some real friends," Jimmy was right and Pete knew it, but he didn't want to

"Whatever. Let's just go ride the damn wheel," Pete said quietly, and walked over to Gary who instantly began picking on him.

"Awww, what's wrong Pete? Lover's quarrel?" Gary mocked.

"Shut up Gary, give it a rest already," Pete huffed, handing a ticket to the ride attendant.

"Ouch, Pete, your words cut-" Ironically, Gary's words were cut off by Beatrice Trudeau bounding up to the pair. Jimmy smiled and walked behind her, a smug look on his face.

"Hey Petey! Gary," Beatrice said, smiling at Pete then glaring at Gary. Gary was about to say something when the attendant cleared his throat.

"Is anyone going on the ride anytime soon?" He asked, frustrated with the ride being stopped for so long to let the teenagers argue.

"Sure, sure. Come on Pete, I'll hold your hand if you get scared," Gary said with a wink. Pete glared at him and looked at Jimmy who cocked his head towards Beatrice. Pete understood immediately.

"Who says I'm going on with you? Beatrice, would you like to ride with me?" Pete asked the overeager bespectacled girl.

"Sure! I'd love to," Beatrice about shouted, latching to Pete's arm and handing the attendant a ticket for her to ride as well. The two made their way to the available car and sat down, waiting to be secured in.

"Okay, finally. Anyone who isn't riding the ride, please step the hell back," The attendant said, then walked over to the car and roughly secured the safety bar. He took a long gaze at Beatrice's chest as he did this, and she cleared her throat. He looked at her face and she pouted, her bottom lip scabbed by a cold sore. He made a noise of disgust and hurried to the controls, quickly turning the ride on.

Pete jumped as the ride lurched and looked at Beatrice to see if she had done the same, and Beatrice lifted a hand to her lips. Pete watched as her lip became suddenly blemish free. They had been working on a project together since school started, and this was it.

"Press on cold sores were such a fantastic idea, I can't believe you got the adhesive formula to work! Ever since mom went a little overboard after that 'Take Back the Night' course she was taking she's been looking for something cool like this. That's my rape whistle Mandy Wiles blew during the last pep rally. After she sees me with one of these, what do you bet it ends up at the bottom of her locker?" The pair laughed and Pete shook his head.

"This really was a stroke of genius, Beatrice Trudeau," Pete smiled and took Beatrice's hand. He looked down at Gary who was openly glaring at the two, and Jimmy was smirking at Gary's discomfort.

* * *

"I really can stand up for myself," Pete said, still staring at the picture. A knock on the opened door shook the memory away and Pete turned around, Beatrice's smiling face greeting him in the doorway.

"Bad time Kowalski?" Beatrice asked. Her normally stiff, hair-sprayed coif hung in soft curls around her head and her normally pristine and starched uniform replaced by a sundress, the press-on cold sores absent as well.

"Um...no, no it's fine," Pete shook the thoughts of Gary fully out of his head and got a good look at the drastically different Beatrice.

"Wow, you look, w-where did you go?" Pete jokingly stammered while looking around Beatrice to find the old incarnation of her.

"I was hoping you would like it. New year, new look, new Beatrice. I was spending too much money on Salon Selectives anyway," Beatrice replied, walking into the dorm room. After plopping down on Pete's bed, she noticed the picture of Gary in Pete's hand and felt a pang. Pete was the first person to see her new look for a reason, but his rather unhealthy obsession with his former friend worried her. Was Pete even into girls at all?

"It looks great. Are you retiring the cold sores permanently?" Pete said and after noticing the look on her face he quickly stuffed the picture into his suitcase.

"Until college," Beatrice smirked.

"You might have to step it up for the Ivy League," Mandy Wiles' voice floated in from the door. Beatrice jumped up, embarrassed having been caught flirting.

"Oh yeah? And just what do you have in mind exactly?" Beatrice challenged, sizing up her verbal opponent.

"I dunno, maybe genital warts? That is if someone actually decided they want to see you naked, which I doubt," Mandy stepped towards Beatrice, expecting the smaller girl to back down but Beatrice wasn't having it.

"Well the entire town has already seen you naked and I don't think it's a coincidence Trent dumped you right after that happened. What are they calling you now? Mandy Pepperoni Nipples?"

"You little cu-" Mandy raised her manicured fist to smash into Beatrice's face but it was quickly grabbed and forced behind her back roughly.

"I don't think so, Pepperoni Nips. Now get the hell out of here before I break your arm," Zoe said calmly, holding a huffing Mandy back from smashing the smaller girl into oblivion. A tense moment passed as Mandy weighed her options and, letting out a frustrated sigh, hung her head in defeat. Zoe quickly backed off and Mandy threw her arms up and walked out of the room.

"So this is where have you two been? I sent you to get Pete like...twenty minutes ago, Bea, what have you been doing to my boy here?" Jimmy said teasingly. Beatrice and Pete both blushed for completely different reasons.

"Never mind, I don't want to know. Let's get out of here. My bus leaves at seven and I'm not gonna be late because of teenage hormones."

"Jimmy!" Pete exclaimed, turning redder than he had previously.

"Give it a rest Hopkins. Lets get the hell out of this place. It's giving me hives," Zoe said, motioning from the doorway. Jimmy gave her a dopey grin as he followed her out.

"We should probably follow them, Pete, Zoe's kinda scary when she's impatient. You ready?" Beatrice asked. Pete gave the room a once over and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Pete picked up his suitcase and took Beatrice's hand, a gesture that surprised them both. The pair walked out the door, Pete stopping to close it. He gave the room one last look and he shook his head, closing the door to his old room, and his old life.


	2. Moving Out and Into Your Life, Part 2

Chapter Two: Moving Out and Into Your Life: Part 2

Edgar Munsen sat at the bar at the local dive, The Fish Tank, a beer in front of him. He was more excited about this upcoming summer than he had been for one in his short eighteen years of life. Zoe had inspired him to go back to school, he had signed up for the summer school program and was going to take night classes to get his GED.

"It's never too late for a fresh start," she had said. Edgar hadn't seen her like this in a while; She was one of his favorite drinking buddies, mostly because she wasn't addicted to meth and she only broke into his house when her water got shut off to shower, unlike most of the other inhabitants of Industrial Skies Park in Bullworth Town. He knew she was better than what she had turned into, and he guessed Jimmy helped her see that. He didn't like the kid at first, just thought he was some snot-nosed trust fund brat, but the kid had vision, and guts. He admired that.

He ran a hand through his short clipped brown hair just as a middle-aged but attractive woman sat down next to him, motioning for the bartender. The bartender in question rolled his eyes and went back to wiping down the bar.

"I don't get it," she started and it took Edgar a moment to realize she was speaking to him, "I come in here every week and it takes this guy a goddamn hour to get me a drink."

"I'll show you a trick," Edgar said, smirking, "Hey Boris, you've got a paying customer here. You don't get many of those, how about some service?"

Boris grumbled and asked the woman what she wanted, she smiled and orderedf.

"Long Island Iced Tea, please," She replied.

Boris went to make her drink and Edgar decided to introduce himself, extending his hand, "Where are my manners, I'm Edgar Munsen."

"Deidre Phillips-Galloway, aka forever in your gratitude. I can't drink at home so this is kind of my sanctuary," Deidre replied.

"And you haven't even started drinking yet, you must really got troubles. You wanna talk about it? I'm told I'm a good listener," Edgar smiled warmly at the woman currently fidgeting with her wedding ring. Boris set her drink down in front of her. She took a long gulp, shuddering at the burn in her throat.

"Alright but, we might be here all day," Deidre warned. Edgar nodded for her to continue.

"My husband is a recovering alcoholic, a month sober. I knew about his problem before we became a couple. We work together, both teachers at Bullworth Academy, I helped him hide his problem when it got so bad he was almost fired. We got married when he went into AA, I knew it was a rash decision but when you get to my age you just don't want to wait anymore. He's been good, but I get this feeling he resents me. He's distant, the only honeymoon period was when he was drinking. Ever since the wedding, everything's changed," Deidre looked down, "I don't think we're going to make it."

"Do you think you're an enabler?" Edgar asked. Deidre pulled a tissue out of her purse and wiped her tearing eyes.

"I was. For so long I covered his classes, brought him aspirin, paid for his liquor when he was in debt, I felt needed and I guess I liked it, that's kinda screwed up isn't it?" Deidre smiled sadly.

"No more screwed up than anyone else in this town," Edgar said, "But it's not like that anymore, is it?"

"He's still really dependent on me. He has a sponsor but I'm still the one he wakes up at three in the morning when he's locked himself in the bathroom with a bottle of mouthwash. I think he resents that. He wanted an equal partner and he wanted to stand on his own two feet, but I'm still taking care of him."

Edgar took the distraught woman's hand, "You're doing the best you can. Don't beat yourself up too much,"

Deidre smiled and dabbed her eyes again, "You're right. And things aren't always so bad, there's a lot of good too."

Edgar's cell phone vibrated and he answered it quickly, shooting out a quick conversation and hanging up.

"Sorry, that's my boss, I gotta head to work. You gonna be okay here?"

"Yes, yes I think I'll be just fine. Thank you for listening," Deidre said, holding his gaze for an uncomfortable moment.

"Yeah...good. I'm just gonna..." Edgar took out his wallet and slammed some bills on the bar, but Deidre handed them back to him.

"Lemme get that. It was cheaper than marriage counseling."

Edgar smiled gratefully, nodding in approval and as a gesture of thanks, then headed out of the dive bar. Deidre downed her drink and motioned for another.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jimmy and Zoe sat on a bench in front of the bus station while Beatrice and Pete went to find a vending machine, an excuse to give the couple some privacy. Currently locked in a passionate embrace, Zoe's hand slipped to Jimmy's zipper. Jimmy pulled away.

"Um," Jimmy started breathlessly, "If you do that, I'll miss my bus, and be arrested for indecent exposure."

Zoe grinned seductively, "Come on Jim, live dangerously. I'm not going to see you for another three months."

Jimmy was just about to give in when Beatrice and Pete returned, bouncing towards the couple excitedly.

"You're probably going to miss dinner on that bus so I got you a sandwich, too," Pete said, handing Jimmy a soda and a simple turkey sandwich.

"Thanks mom," Zoe chuckled jokingly and Jimmy shot her a look.

"My mom would never do that for me," Jimmy said quietly. The teens sat still for a moment, uncomfortable. Just before Zoe was going to break the tension with another (hopefully less inappropriate) joke, a car pulled up in front of the station and honked. Zoe yelled for it to move along, as there was no parking in front of the station. The owner of the car then turned it off and opened the door.

"Oh shit," Beatrice exclaimed, reaching for the whistle around her neck. Pete looked at her.

"Seriously? You took that thing back from Mandy?"

"Why do you think she was looking for me earlier?"

A car door slamming ended that conversation and the four looked up to see who the mystery driver was.

"You should learn to watch your tongue in front of your elders missy, it could get you in a lot of trouble," the driver said. She was in a rather ill-fitting tight dress with makeup caked on haphazardly, giving her an almost Baby-Jane-trying-to-be-sexy visage.

"...Mom?" Jimmy asked, confused. Zoe stared in annoyance while Pete and Beatrice looked away, wanting to be anywhere but where they were at the present moment in time in time.

"No, I'm the Wicked Witch of the West," Mrs. Hopkins spat.

"We've heard," Zoe snarked before she could stop herself, Jimmy shooting her a nasty look.

"And just who the hell are you? Obviously you're one of the bad influences on my boy I keep getting calls from the school about. And you," Mrs. Hopkins turned from the couple on the bench to Beatrice and Pete who looked like deer trapped in headlights.

"You two must be Peter and Zoe, I've heard so much about you, keeping my son out of trouble," the smile plastered on Mrs. Hopkins face would have probably made Algernon pee his pants, Pete thought.

"No, mom. Well, yes, that is Pete, but this," he put his arm around the girl next to him, "Is Zoe. And I can assure you she is a very good influence. That's Beatrice, Pete's girlfriend."

Pete squawked in protest for a millisecond but when Mrs. Hopkins' attention turned back to him he put his arm around Beatrice, smiling. When her attention shifted back to her son, his arm quickly dropped and Beatrice's face fell in disappointment.

"Oh, well, I guess when you press on coal enough it turns into a diamond. Tell me, how much has my son been pressing on you, young lady?"

Zoe would have risen out of her seat if Jimmy hadn't put his arm out to stop her.

"Mom, that's enough. What the hell are you doing here? Where's Scrooge?" Jimmy asked, holding back a fuming Zoe.

"James, don't talk to me that way. But if you must now, he took off with a cabana girl during the honeymoon, I've spent the past few months in a legal battle for his fortune. Family is important to me and I want to make sure mine are provided for, you see. And since you seem to be doing so well here, I've decided I would move closer to my son while he finishes school."

"How much closer?" Jimmy inquired.

"We've moved into a lovely neighborhood called Bullworth Vale. The house is just gorgeous and our neighbors are the sweetest family with a boy your age. Maybe you know them, the Taylors?" Mrs. Hopkins asked.

Zoe shivered and Jimmy decided he would ask about that interesting reaction later.

"Oh that's just swell. That's actually Z-," Zoe inconspicuously elbowed Jimmy in the ribs to stop him from finishing that sentence. At that moment Jimmy decided it wise to not mention them being Zoe's estranged family. He continued,

'Yeah, I know them. Bif and I had a few run-ins at Bullworth. He's...interesting," Jimmy said.

"Yes, well anyway, we must be off. The movers arrive in," Mrs. Hopkins checked her watch, "Twenty minutes. Grab your bags and put them in the back, be careful not to smash my hatbox, it's from Dieder Sachs," Mrs. Hopkins turned to the rest of Jimmy's friends.

"Peter, Beatrice, it was lovely meeting you and I hope to see you around this summer if you're locals. You'll keep my James out of trouble," She then turned towards Zoe, "And Zoe, I do hope you learn to think before you speak to your elders. It is very nasty habit you have, and I don't want my son exposed to that kind of behavior."

Zoe glared daggers into the woman while Jimmy picked up his bags, and wanting to throw Zoe a bone and piss his mom off while he did it, he gave Zoe a long, lingering kiss goodbye. Zoe pulled away and stared into his eyes while Mrs. Hopkins tapped her foot impatiently.

"I love you," Jimmy whispered, and with that he stalked off towards the car with his overbearing mother.

"Fucking unbelievable," Zoe grumbled while Pete and Beatrice looked on, sympathetic.

* * *

Gary Smith sat in the room he was assigned to at Happy Volts Asylum. His side ached and the bandage itched from the nasty gash he received from falling through Dr. Crabblesnitch's skylight with Jimmy, who was miraculously unharmed. His parents were on the other side of the room from him, his mother sitting in a chair and his father standing.

"Gary, we just want to know, why did you do all of this?" Patricia asked.

"..."

"Gary, answer your mother," His father instructed. Gary continued to stare at the wall behind them, not speaking a word.

"Damn it Gary, answer me!" His mother arose from her seat and stalked across to the bed he was sitting on, she grabbed his face and stared into his eyes.

"Where are you? Are you even in there? Where is my son? Where is the boy that I carried for nine months? That I nursed through chicken pox and the flu and every other damn ailment he ever had? Where is the boy I taught to play the piano and how to fix the E key when it stuck? I don't even know you anymore!" Patricia was crying, and Charles pulled her away.

"I hope you're happy, son. Because that wall is all you're going to be seeing for a while," Charles said, feeling a pang in his heart for saying something so cruel to his only child. Gary's face was completely blank, he seemed almost catatonic.

BUZZ! The door to the room automatically opened and an orderly stepped in with a friendly looking African-American nurse.

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith, we're ready to begin the evaluation. If you would please," the nurse motioned towards the door and Patricia and Charles nodded, walking out the door to.

"Gary, I'm Nurse Amy Barkley, it's nice to meet you," The nurse stuck her hand out but Gary just looked at her.

"Don't bother with that one," The orderly said, "He hasn't made a peep in hours."

Nurse Amy smiled, "I'm sure we'll be great friends."

Gary looked back at the wall, continuing his silence. Nurse Amy shook her head.

"The doctor will be in shortly. Maeve, could you give us a second?" Nurse Amy looked at her companion.

"I'm not really supposed to-" Maeve began.

"I'm sure I will be fine."

"Fine, press the panic buzzer if you need me." And with that, Maeve the orderly walked out of the room.

"Gary, I know whatever it is you're dealing with is rough, but we really do want to help. When you're ready to talk, there'll be someone ready to listen."

Gary, unsurprisingly, just continued to stare at the wall. Nurse Amy sighed and left the room, pressing the button to close the door automatically.

Gary sat there for a long time, memorizing every crack and peel on the wall, and after a while, he smirked.


	3. The Party Part 1: The Preparation

Chapter Three, The Party Part One, The Preparation

Zoe Taylor sat in The Final Cut flipping through a magazine while Betty bleached her blonde. She was never content with keeping a hair color for very long and a new look for Summer School on Monday was the perfect excuse for her compulsion.

"I don't think any of this stuff is really me, Zoe," Beatrice called from across the shop. Zoe rolled her eyes. Jimmy had charmed Beatrice into tutoring Zoe this summer, and Zoe wasn't particularly happy about having the annoying girl tag along.

"Oh hun, you've just got shoppers jitters. Lemme help you," Betty said. She walked away from Zoe whose scalp was on the precipice of burning to help Beatrice out.

"I just want to find something...s-sexy," Beatrice stammered, "I'm tired of looking like a nun."

"Trying to impress someone?" Zoe asked, amused. She turned around and smirked at Beatrice.

"Well, maybe," Beatrice picked up a tight, black tank top and walked over to the lingerie section. embarrassed, she picked up a red lacy bra and brought her purchases to the register.

"You're probably going to need bottoms to go with that, dear," Betty said with a warm smile. Beatrice turned a darker shade of red than the undergarments she was about to buy.

"Right...sorry," Beatrice walked back over to the rack and quickly grabbed the panties in question.

"So, who is this whole makeover for anyway?" Zoe questioned, "It's not that the Stepford-Wife-in-training look wasn't going for you, but you did kinda have designs on my man and a girl does have a tendency to worry about that kinda thing."

Betty rang up Beatrice's purchases.

"It's not for Jimmy, I gave up on that a while ago. He's a bit too much of a player for me, and since you're woman enough to tame what I wasn't able too, the chances of me getting with Jimmy are pretty much nil," Beatrice explained. Betty finished ringing up her purchases.

"Could I go ahead and try this on? I wanna see if this'll look right for tonight-" Beatrice clapped a hand over her mouth. Zoe furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Tonight? What do you mean tonight? I thought we were studying? I mean I'm flattered," Zoe smirked, "But I really don't think of you that way."

"Promise you won't get mad," Beatrice said, walking towards Zoe.

"What? Beatrice, what are you talking about?"

"Oh god Jimmy's going to be pissed but I told him I can't keep a secret. He asked me to keep you distracted today. He's throwing a surprise party at your place for you, since this is your last weekend of freedom. He's there now with Pete and Edgar setting up the decorations. Please don't hit me," Beatrice shielded her face.

Zoe felt the anger rise then quickly dissipate when she heard the word decorations, "They're really going all out for this? For me?" Zoe smiled.

"Yeah, Jimmy was really excited about it. Pete's baking a cake, Edgar's bringing a keg, it's going to be really fun, I hope. You aren't mad?"

Zoe was floored that Jimmy would go through all this effort for her, "No. I'm not. I'm really not. Thank you, Bea. Now go sexify yourself," Zoe motioned to the dressing room. Beatrice nodded and shut herself in the dressing room.

Zoe whipped out her cell phone and called Jimmy, but the call went to voicemail.

"Your plan's busted, Jimmy. You wreck my house and I wreck you, and not in the way you would like," Zoe paused before allowing a small smile to play across her face, "but...um...thanks," and with that, she snapped her phone closed.

"Oh no, you didn't," Beatrice called from the dressing room.

"Oh yes, I did," Zoe called back, "And you never answered my question. Who's the get-up for?"

Zoe heard a sigh from the dressing room.

"It's for Pete, okay? I think he likes me. He's cute and I do have a thing for short guys," Beatrice said, pulling on the top. She stared at her reflection, frowning at the amount of cleavage she was showing thanks to the push-up.

"Beatrice...I don't think that's a good idea," Zoe started. Beatrice walked out of the dressing room, cutting her off.

"Really? You don't think he'll like this?" Beatrice asked. Zoe raised her eyebrows.

"Wow, it's a hot look yeah but...I dunno. Pete seems kinda...fragile I guess," Zoe answered.

"Then maybe I'll be a shoulder to cry on," Beatrice smirked.

"That's not what I meant Bea, and that isn't a good idea," Zoe frowned. Beatrice was starting to get on her nerves.

"Then what do you mean, Z?" Beatrice was starting to get a little irritated.

Zoe sighed and turned back around in her chair.

"I don't think Pete's that into you."

"Really? You know I'm getting really tired of people telling me no guy will ever want me. I'm not that ugly you know. What, just because I don't dress like a slut you don't think any guy thinks of me that way? You ever sat in on a Grottos and Gremlins tournament? I used to get harassed in ways the jocks never even thought of during one of those things," Beatrice was seeing red and Zoe knew she had to bring out the big guns if she was going to calm this little girl down before someone ended up with a black eye.

"Oh shit," Betty murmured and quickly rushed for the stock room. This could get ugly fast and she didn't want to witness it.

"First of all, thanks for the slut comment. You know attitudes like that are the reasons girls hate each other. Just because I've never owned a cardigan in my life doesn't make me a slut. I thought you were smarter than to think like that."

Beatrice hung her head and mumbled an apology. Zoe continued.

"Thanks. Second, I'm not saying a guy would never like you. You're a pretty girl Beatrice, and I know you put on a lot of the obsessive annoying act, like the press-on cold sores. Am I right?"

Beatrice nodded.

"What I'm saying is Pete's pretty broken up now. Gary just got taken off to mental institution. He probably isn't getting out for a while. He probably isn't looking for a shoulder to cry on. At least not in the way you're thinking of. He needs friends, not girlfriends."

Beatrice pouted, "But what if it turns into more? He held my hand yesterday, and how do you know so much anyway? You've only known the kid for what, a week?"

Zoe scowled, "Our mothers went to school together. We've known each other since we were kids. We just haven't been friends for some time. We drifted apart once we started at Bullworth,"

"Oh...my bad," Beatrice smiled apologetically.

"Yeah, your bad." Zoe rubbed her eyes, finding this whole conversation exhausting. Beatrice sniffed the air.

"What's that smell?"

Zoe's eyes widened. "Oh no, BETTY?! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Betty came rushing from the stock room.

"We can fix this! I'm so sorry!"

* * *

Jimmy hung up the phone and sighed, "Put down the icing, we've been figured out Petey."

"Are you kidding? I just finished this thing! Beatrice paid for the keg, and Edgar's gonna be back with it any minute, we're going through with this," Pete shouted from the kitchen, wiping icing from his brow.

Jimmy looked around the living room. Streamers and balloons hung from the ceiling, and a banner painted rather crudely to say 'Good Luck Zoe' hung above the mantel. They had spent a good part of three hours decorating the home, and Jimmy had a surprise for Zoe tonight. Pete was right, they had come too far to let their hard work go to waste.

"You're right. Beatrice is lucky she came through with the keg money, otherwise she would be in major trouble," Jimmy said.

A knock at the door was heard and Edgar shouted from outside.

"Yo Jim, come help with this! It weighs a ton!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming, you should spend more time at the gym," Jimmy shouted back, grinning. He opened the door as Edgar stumbled through, nearly dropping the keg. Acting with almost cat-like reflexes, Jimmy grabbed the other end of the keg before it hit the hardwood floor.

"Jeez you could have waited a second!" Jimmy yelled, "This thing could have taken out the floor! I wouldn't want be the one who had to explain a huge hole in the floor to Zoe."

"Sorry, I couldn't get anything to wheel it in here with. What's up your ass?" Edgar asked.

"Shit man, I don't know. I just want tonight to be perfect. We could all use some fun."

"Ain't that the damn truth," Edgar said while him and Jimmy put the keg up on a sturdy-looking table. Pete walked in from the kitchen and plopped down on the couch, opening up a soda. He was wearing a faded Beam Cola shirt that was stained in green icing. Jimmy laughed at his appearance.

"Who won?"

Pete glared at Jimmy, "I don't want to talk about it."

Jimmy threw his hands up in mock surrender, "Whatever dude, you should probably change before the party. Beatrice won't want to make out with anyone covered in icing."

"Jimmy!"

Edgar laughed and joined in on the good-natured ribbing, "I dunno dude. She might be kinky like that. Straight-laced girls like her are pretty freaky. It sounds kinda hot to me."

Jimmy smirked, "Maybe I should introduce you to a girl I know named Eunice. You should see what she'll do for a box of chocolates."

Pete choked on his soda while the other two boys gripped their ribs and wheezed from laughing so hard.

"You two are disgusting. When is Zoe getting here? Did Beatrice say nine?"

"Yeah, they're going to see some movie in town then coming back here. I just hope Zoe isn't pissed off enough to come back early and wreck everything."

Edgar plopped a hand to Jimmy's back.

"Nah man, Zoe might act tough but she likes stuff like this, she'd never admit it though. In fact she'd probably put me in the hospital for telling you this, but her parents used to throw her huge birthday parties when she was a kid. Nobody's done anything like this for her in a while. She'll love it dude, stop worrying about it."

Jimmy felt a gnawing in his stomach when Edgar mentioned Zoe's family. She had been pretty guarded when it came to talking about them. He knew she emancipated herself, and she occasionally talked about her father, but every time he brought up the subject she either got angry or stopped talking altogether.

"Her family...my mom is moving in next door to them and Zoe's not happy about it. I know she was emancipated after she got kicked out, but her dad is paying her tuition now. But that's pretty much all I know," Jimmy said to Edgar. Pete turned his head in embarrassment as the moment grew tense.

"Come on man, you know I can't tell you anything she hasn't told you. She'll tell you when she tells you," Edgar replied, frowning.

"You're right, sorry dude," Jimmy said, but the silence was still pretty awkward. Pete cleared his throat.

"...So...you got a tap for that thing?"

Edgar grinned. Tonight was going to be a good night.


	4. The Party Part 2: The Celebration

Chapter Four, Party Part Two: The Celebration

Jimmy checked his watch nervously. The guests had arrived, mostly townies looking for a free drink and Bullworth kids looking to piss off their parents during the summer. All in all, it proved to be a successful party so far, the only question being when the guest of honor would arrive.

Pete walked in from the kitchen to the living room, "It's so hard keeping them away from the cake," then he saw the look on Jimmy's face, "What's up?"

"I haven't heard from Beatrice in two hours, where could they be?"

"You said they were going to that sci-fi double feature right? Beatrice probably made them dress up for it or something nerdy like that. Don't sweat it. The surprise is ruined anyway, all else fails she'll have to come home to kick everyone out."

"Wow Pete, you sure know how to make a guy feel better," Jimmy deadpanned. Pete clapped a hand on Jimmy's shoulder awkwardly.

"It's what I'm here for."

Suddenly, Edgar came rushing downstairs and started hushing the crowd, "Beatrice just called me, they'll be here in two minutes, everyone get in your hiding places!"

"Are we still doing the surprise party thing since the surprise in question has already been ruined?" Pete asked.

"Are you kidding? Zoe'll love this shit. Now get behind the couch," Edgar guided Pete and another guest behind the couch. Pete crouched down and peered over the top of the couch while Edgar tried to get comfortable.

"They're coming up now, everyone get down," Jimmy said, flicking off the lights and plopping down on the couch. The party waited with bated breath as the lock clicked on the door and the door opened.

A collective yell of "Surprise!" emanated through the house and the lights flicked back on to show Zoe's shy smile, and a noticeably shorter haircut. Jimmy stood in front of her, staring into her eyes, and smiling.

"You're an idiot Jimmy," Zoe said laughing, and jumped in his arms, kissing him passionately. The party erupted in cheers and Pete abruptly left the living room for the kitchen with a sad expression on his face. Beatrice went to follow him, but when the happy couple untangled themselves Jimmy grabbed her by the shoulders playfully and turned her around.

"You must have a different definition of a surprise party than everyone else does, eh Bea?"

"Hey, she got here in one piece didn't she?"

"My hair didn't," Zoe grumbled.

"Hey, you rock the pixie cut look," Jimmy said, slinging an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders and kissing her on the top of the head.

"You actually noticed?" Zoe asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I need to make sure our haircuts won't match in a couple of months,"

"He's a charmer isn't he?" Zoe asked Edgar as he appeared with a party hat.

"The charming-est. And yes, you have to wear this,"

Zoe studied the party hat. Garish, lime green and hot pink designs emblazoned with the words "Rogue Scholar" bedazzled in the middle. Edgar pointed to a similar hat on his head.

"They match," He said.

Zoe smirked and pulled the hat on, "Alright everyone, let's get drunk in this bitch!"

Beatrice made her way into the kitchen as Pete swatted people's hands away from the cake. She was nervous, which was a feeling she didn't normally get when she had a crush. _Mostly because I know I usually don't stand a chance,_ she thought. _It's easier to make a fool out of yourself when you don't care as much_.

"Johnny Vincent if you touch that cake again I will find that crane and string you up again," Pete warned the greaser clique leader. Johnny threw his hands up in mock defeat.

"Whatever dude, I'm not even on a bike this time. Where's the keg?"

"Living room. Zoe just got here so you should probably go say hi,"

"Cool".

* * *

Beatrice caught a look at herself in the kitchen window. Frowning, she pulled her top down a bit lower to expose more cleavage. _I had more tits in the store_ , her brain complained.

"Beatrice, could you help me move this?" Pete asked, motioning to a rolling tray he was going to use to bring the cake into the living room.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure Petey," Beatrice replied. The two got on opposite sides of the two-tiered cake and lifted it up to the tray. Pete, tripping over the side of the kitchen island, stumbled into Beatrice and the two nearly dropped it, but Pete quickly regained his grip and they set it down on the tray. Pete bent over to take one last look at the cake and Beatrice stuck her chest subtly forward.

"Um," Pete stammered while looking up, "Beatrice, would you mind pointing those things in another direction? You might take an eye out,"

"But eyes are what I'm trying to catch," Beatrice said, winking. Her hopes were quickly dashed when Pete stiffened, visibly uncomfortable.

"Yeah...well...I didn't see Lola here so maybe you could catch Johnny's," Pete said, recovering quickly. Beatrice looked down, embarrassed by her behavior.

"Yeah, maybe."

The awkward moment was interrupted by Edgar barging into the kitchen.

"When's the cake coming? Some of these kids are drinking on an empty stomach and Zoe's getting impatient,"

"It's right here, hold your horses," Pete replied, exasperated. He motioned for Edgar to move out-of-the-way of the doorway and he wheeled the cake into the living room.

"Alright! Guest of Honor Zoe Taylor, come get the first piece!" Pete said. Beatrice followed him with some paper plates and started cutting the cake, handing the first slice to Zoe. After a few slices it became clear she was just in the way of the hungry group of young adults and got out-of-the-way to let everyone get their own pieces.

"Mmm, Pete, this is delicious, what's in this?" Zoe asked, covering her mouthful of cake.

"Yeah, delicious," Jimmy agreed.

"Uh-uh, a magician never reveals his secrets," Pete smirked. A knock sounded at the door and the four turned around.

"Ugh, hold on Amy, if the lock is still sticking I'll call the locksmith tomorrow-" Zoe called,

"Who's Amy?" Beatrice asked, the first time she had heard this name.

"My landlord, she works at Happy Volts," Zoe said, pulling open the door. Mandy Wiles and Kirby Olsen stood on the porch, glaring inside.

"I heard there was a party," Mandy said, sneering.

"Yeah, for Zoe. One you weren't invited to," Beatrice said, walking up behind Zoe and bawling up her fists.

"Slow your roll, Punky Brewster. I'm not here to fight. I brought a peace-offering, two actually,"

Mandy handed a bottle of scotch to Zoe and tossed a tattered book to Beatrice.

"My copy of Watership Down, where did you find this? I've looked everywhere for it!"

"I found it when I was packing up in our dorm room. I was gonna throw it out after our fight but, Jimmy wanted to promote togetherness and shit right? So what happened doesn't happen again? So I figured screw fighting, let's party!" Mandy pumped her fist into the air awkwardly. Kirby hung his head, embarrassed for his companion.

"Alright, come in. Help yourself to some cake, glasses and ice are in the kitchen. Let's crack this open," Zoe said, putting her arm around Mandy and leading her into the kitchen. Kirby followed inside, high-fiving Jimmy and heading towards the keg.

"You and Mandy huh?" Jimmy asked Kirby.

"Yeah, she's pretty hot," Kirby replied, taking a big gulp of beer.

"Yeah she is, but what about-"

"What about what Jimmy?" Kirby asked, annoyed. Kirby followed Jimmy's gaze to Trent Northwick who was standing behind Pete, conspicuously whispering something in his ear while Pete's face held and unreadable expression. Jimmy saw Trent's hand reach up to grab his beer off the cart and less than conspicuously brush Pete's butt as he reached. Jimmy frowned and was about to say something when Kirby cut him off by grabbing him by the collar and pulling him into a dark hallway.

"Look, I'm not ready for anyone to know yet. Trent was way too conspicuous and I just couldn't handle that. Just keep your mouth shut, okay? I could lose my spot on the team."

Jimmy backed off.

"Alright, I won't say anything. I get it."

"Do you? I went to that Romeo and Juliet production they did last year and ended up having to replace my football jersey because someone spray painted the word fag on it. Those guys would kill me if they found out, and I'm not even sure what I am."

"I mean, I get it a little bit. I like...both too but you're right. I don't play sports so I don't have that target on my back. You know what I think you need, Kirby?" Jimmy asked, his face suddenly serious.

"What?"

"Another drink," Jimmy smiled.

Meanwhile Trent realized the eyes on him and decided to stop harassing Pete, sauntering over to Kirby and Jimmy.

"A drink? I could get you a beer, if you wanted," Trent said awkwardly.

Kirby looked over at the kitchen door which opened slightly. Mandy was inside, completely unaware of what was going on.

"Leave me alone, okay," Kirby practically shouted and promptly turned around, bolting up the stairs.

"Damn it, Kirby wait!" Trent followed. A couple of party-goers watched with confused looks on their faces but soon went back to drinking.

Pete was nursing on his beer while locking the wheels on the cart when Jimmy strode over to him. Pete looked frazzled, his hair was a little mussed and his cheeks were tinged pink.

"So what was that about? What did Trent say?" Jimmy was uncomfortable with Trent's behavior. Practically groping Pete like that went way too far.

"He, uh...just wanted to tell me the cake was good," Pete replied, in a hushed voice, looking nervous and more than a little distressed.

"You look...do you wanna go somewhere else and talk?" Jimmy asked. The music was still quite loud but Pete looked uncomfortable around all the party guests. He nodded. Jimmy put his arm around Pete and guided him back to the hallway where he had been talking to Kirby.

"So...Zoe really liked this, but she hasn't talked to me all night," Jimmy whispered. The hallway was dark, quiet, and had a little alcove for the clothes washer and dryer that wasn't visible from the living room. Pete leaned against the wall of the alcove with Jimmy squeezing in front of him to fit where he wouldn't be seen by the guests. He could barely make out Pete's facial features but he could hear Pete's erratic breathing slowly return to normal.

"S-she's still embarrassed I think. Trust me, if I know her as well as I think I do, you'll be in for a good night," Pete said, chuckling. Jimmy's face contorted and Pete realized what he said sounded like.

"No, not like that, I mean...she's grateful. She'll be really nice to you, I mean. And she'll probably do something like this for you. Not that I know she's planning anything."

"Alright, cool. What about Beatrice? I know she likes you," Jimmy prodded. He could barely make out Pete rolling his eyes and shifting his body to leave the alcove but Jimmy stuck his arm out, blocking his exit. Pete huffed, annoyed.

"She's cool but, I dunno. I just don't feel it. We were friends when we were kids until she started acting like this and it just kinda fell apart. We tried to become friends again this year but she started again and I just don't wanna hurt her," Pete explained, and Jimmy nodded.

"Yeah, I get it. That girl has a problem taking no for an answer. Seems to be a lot of that going around."

Pete shifted uncomfortably and his hip brushed against Jimmy's arm, still pressed against the wall. Neither spoke for a second, suddenly aware of the uncomfortable lack of space between them. Jimmy's arm dropped back to his side.

"If Trent's been harassing you, you should tell me. I can take care of it. You said something the other day that you caught him in your room and-" Jimmy was cut off by Pete.

"Just stop, Jimmy," Pete said, indignantly and a little too loudly, but Jimmy wasn't buying it. He shook his head.

"That didn't look innocent Pete," Jimmy said and Pete started to leave again. Jimmy grabbed him by the shoulders to keep him in place.

"Hey, it's okay. You can talk to me about this, I'm your friend, right?" Jimmy asked, searching Pete's face for an answer. Pete nodded but didn't say anything. He couldn't look Jimmy in the eyes, Jimmy observed.

"I saw what happened Pete, I saw him touch you," Jimmy said. Pete sighed, hanging his head.

"It's fine, Jimmy," Pete said quietly, shrugging Jimmy's hand's off his shoulders.

"What? No it's not, that's what I'm trying to," Jimmy was cut off by Pete's hand covering his mouth.

"Listen to what I'm saying. It's. Fine." Pete searched Jimmy's eyes to see if he understood what the smaller boy was saying but he still didn't. Jimmy pushed Pete's hand away.

"No, it isn't! You shouldn't touch someone if you don't have permission-"

"He does," Pete said. He couldn't believe he had the confidence to say it out loud. He looked up at Jimmy sheepishly.

"Oh," Jimmy said. He couldn't really form a complete thought for a full second before he realized an important part of what Pete said.

"So...this has happened before?" Jimmy asked. The weirdness between them had dissipated and Pete was grateful.

"A few times. He doesn't...we don't...do it often, but one time, I guess a little after Christmas, we were both in the school after hours, I was finishing an art project but I don't know what he was doing. I guess it doesn't matter, anyway; we got caught in the hallways by a prefect who tried to chase us down. We ended up hiding out behind the Christmas decorations in the janitor's closet. It was a tight fit...kinda like," Pete gestured to their surroundings in the alcove and Jimmy took a step back, backing into the opposite wall, just in case someone came back and thought that's what they had been doing.

"Anyway, we were standing there and he was behind with his hand on my mouth because I had been bitching about probably getting a detention when the prefect came in. I was pressed against him and he, well, got hard," Pete said the last part quickly.

"I really shouldn't be listening to this," Jimmy said, but he had been drinking and this was a side of Petey he didn't know existed really, save that one awkward comment about him being a male stripper.

"Well, the prefect was still snooping around and I guess him being that way plus the thrill of getting caugh got me hard too. I started...rubbing back against him. We just kinda, what do you call it? Dry humped? Until the prefect left," Pete said. Jimmy nodded, tension creeping back into the air again, but for a different reason.

"Yeah?" Jimmy asked, but it wasn't a question.

"Yeah. He uh, he bent down to kiss me I guess but tripped over a box of ornaments. We both freaked out and bolted. Ever since then we just kinda...grab each other sometimes when we can get away with it. One time I left something in my gym locker..nevermind. That story is going to require a lot more alcohol and you look like you're about to pass out," Pete said, smiling.

Jimmy did feel a bit lightheaded, from the booze and the boy, but he knew this conversation needed to end right here. He had a girlfriend, and he did really love her.

"So, what are you?" Jimmy asked, "Gay, bi, whatever?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Jim," Pete responded, "I'm not ready to label myself. I like boys, a lot, but girls can be cool sometimes too. I dunno."

"I think I might be the opposite," Jimmy spoke up, feeling suddenly brave about his orientation. Pete had shared something with him, it was only fair he did too; "I like girls a lot, but boys can be uh...fun sometimes."

Pete swayed, his drink finally kicking in.

"I'm glad we had this conversation Jimmy. It feels good to be able to finally tell someone that won't judge me or laugh at me," Pete said.

"I am too Pete. I've never really told anyone this, and if you ever tell anyone-"

"I wouldn't, you know I wouldn't-"

"I have a girlfriend, Petey."

"I know that, Jimmy. I'm not Gary, I wouldn't do something like that," Pete said, then sighed, "Do you want to get back to the party?"

"Sure," Jimmy said, but Pete had already stomped off.

* * *

Mandy, Beatrice, and Zoe sat at the kitchen island, drinking scotch and laughing. Beatrice couldn't believe it was happening, Mandy was her mortal enemy since she started at Bullworth, and now they were practically drinking buddies.

"No, Mandy you're telling it wrong! Here's what happened: Lola Lombardi had Johnny Vincent in her dorm room and Gord tried to sneak in because she was seeing him too. He ended up climbing into Eunice's window by mistake and when he figured it out he screamed. All the girls ran out of their rooms, Melody Adams started crying about there being a guy in the girl's dorm. Mrs. Carvin sounded the alarm and both Johnny and Gord ran out of the dorm in their underwear. It was hilarious! Then Lola had the balls to come out of her room with her lipstick smeared and her shirt buttoned wrong and tell everyone she had a cold and to please shut up."

The trio burst out laughing and Mandy nearly fell off her bar stool, grabbing Zoe's arm to stay upright.

"Oh shit!" Mandy burst out, giggling again.

"Okay, I think I'm cutting you off," Zoe said, pulling the bottle away from the drunk cheerleader.

"Yeah, yeah, I've still gotta drive home...where's my purse?" Mandy said. She stood up to look for it and stumbled forward into the island, spilling the scotch on Beatrice's new shirt.

"Shit, you are so not driving home!" Beatrice said, walking over to the sink and grabbing a dish towel to clean herself up.

"Yeah, you're staying here tonight. Kirby made a beeline for the keg when he got in so as long as there's no funny business you two can take the guest room."

"Alright. Sorry Beatrice,"

"No worries," Beatrice said, soaking her shirt.

"Crap, this isn't coming off. Could I borrow a top Zoe? I'm not drunk enough to walk around in my underwear," Beatrice asked, pulling off her shirt.

"Yeah, sure, the back stairs are through that door, my room is the second door on the left," Zoe replied, pointing towards a small door next to a cupboard.

"Ugh...is there a bathroom up there? I knew I shouldn't have had that wine cooler before I came," Mandy groaned, holding her stomach.

"Yeah, next door to the bedroom. You better make it to the toilet or you're scrubbing that floor tomorrow!" Zoe threatened. Mandy raised her hand to her head in a mock solute but stumbled forward.

"Come on," Beatrice sighed, slinging Mandy's arm around her shoulder, "I'll hold your hair."

"Thanks Beatrice, you know you're okay for a nerd," Mandy whined drunkenly. Beatrice turned her head and rolled her eyes at Zoe dramatically, and Zoe gave her a knowing smile of someone that's had to take care of drunk peers before.

As Zoe began to wipe the spilled alcohol off the island, Edgar burst through the kitchen door.

"Zoe, you gotta hear the news, also your landlord is here."

"Shit, Amy is going to kill me if there's a mess, how bad is it?" Zoe grabbed a broom from the cupboard.

"Not quite a tornado, everyone's behaving themselves. But Amy wants to talk to you pronto. Put down the broom, she'll think you broke something."

"Right, right. I'm coming, I'm not getting evicted, I'm not having a panic attack, everything's good," Zoe was beginning to hyperventilate.

"Jeez Zoe, calm down! She didn't seem-"

"Is she in here? Zoe!" Nurse Amy Barkley's voice called into the kitchen. Zoe stood like a deer in the headlights. Amy swung the door open.

"There you are, what's taking you so long? You have to hear the news," Amy grabbed Zoe by the arm and gently pulled her into the living room.

"What's going on?" Zoe asked, furrowing her brows in confusion.

"Clint, turn that up," Amy commanded, taking her nurse's hat off and fixing her long brown curls. Clint obeyed and turned the radio up.

"For those of you just tuning in, we've been following the story of Bullworth Academy, the local boarding school where a riot broke out last week, causing injury and thousands of dollars worth in property damage,"

"Don't they have anything else to report on?" Edgar said, taking a swig of beer.

"It's either this or reruns of Chatterbox," Pete replied.

"We have received an exclusive that Bullworth Academy football coach and gym teach Lamar Burton has been arrested on charges of idecency with minors, possibly students at Bullworth. We have reached out to both the Bullworth Police Department and Bullworth School District but so far have not received any confirmation this is what happened due to the case involving minors. I am Lianne Forget, with LCN. Stay safe out there,"

"Oh my god," Zoe said, sinking to the floor. Jimmy rushed to her side.

* * *

"I swear, I'm never drinking again," Mandy wailed as she heaved. Beatrice held her hair back and tried not to get nauseous from the sight of the cheerleader vomiting in front of her.

"It'll be fine, just get it all out," Beatrice soothed. She reached across the tiny bathroom and turned the faucet on, then dumped Mandy's scotch out and rinsed the glass. Mandy finished expelling the contents of her stomach and flushed the toilet, then settled against the wall, groaning in pain.

"Here, drink this," Beatrice handed Mandy the glass of water. Mandy chugged it down.

"Thanks."

Mandy relaxed against the wall for a minute until she heard thumping against it. She stood up and looked at Beatrice, who looked just as confused as she did. It dawned on Beatrice what was going on in the next room and she grabbed Mandy by the hand, pulling her out of the bathroom.

"If Zoe catches whoever that is in there screwing she'll flip her shit," Beatrice burst into the room with Mandy following behind her stumbling. The pair on the bed quickly sat up. Beatrice bowed her head in embarrassment and when Mandy got a good look at who was in the bed she picked up a male pair of jeans on the floor and threw it at the bed.

"Thanks Mandy," Trent muttered, pulling the jeans on.

"What the hell is going on here Kirby? Did you really think you could hide this from me?" Mandy fumed, staring at her boyfriend who was avoiding her eyes and only a few seconds ago was getting felt up by Trent Northwick.

"Well...it would be stupid to say yes now," Trent said and the feuding couple both shouted at him in unison to shut up. Trent got off the bed and quickly exited the room, pulling his shirt back on.

"How long has this been going on?" Mandy asked. Kirby's fingers shook as he buttoned his shirt back up, terrified of the scorned cheerleader.

"I dunno. A while. Please, Mandy-"

"What do you mean you don't know? This isn't Edna getting caught spitting in the food and lying about it, this is you sleeping with a guy!"

"Jesus, Mandy, keep your voice down!" Kirby whispered.

"Why should I? You know I should go downstairs now and tell everyone what you were doing. Would serve you right for what you've done to me!" Mandy turned to walk out of the room and Kirby vaulted towards her, seizing her by the shoulders roughly and turning her around.

"Don't. You. Dare." Kirby threatened, then he felt something press into his back. Beatrice spoke.

"That's a taser pressed into your back. Get your hands off of her or you drop to the floor and piss yourself while a few thousands volts of electricity course through your body. Now let her go and get the hell out of here."

Kirby hesitated for a moment then bolted out of the bedroom. Beatrice sighed and replaced the taser back into her bag.

"Had him fooled, this thing doesn't even work," Beatrice said, then looked at Mandy who was shaking with tears. She took a step towards Mandy but Mandy backed up.

"It's just one thing after another," Mandy muttered, wiping her nose as she cried.

"It'll be okay Mandy, that guy was a jerk-"

"God just get out of here Beatrice you freaking loser! Why are you even talking to me? Here," Mandy picked up a shirt off the floor and tossed it at Beatrice roughly. Beatrice stared at Mandy for a minute, hurt.

"Get out!" Mandy screamed, her tears of hurt quickly turning into those of anger. Beatrice hurried out of the room, shooting a dirty look at Kirby who was walking back in, pulling on his shoes.

"How am I going to get home?" Kirby asked dejectedly.

"Get Trent to drive you, you slut," Beatrice spat as she pulled off her shirt and replaced it with Zoe's and stalked back downstairs.

Kirby stood in the doorway of the bedroom where Mandy sat on the bed crying, and he felt like the worst person in the world. He turned to leave, but Mandy spoke up.

"Wait, we still need to talk. You said before we came. So let's talk," Mandy said, wiping her eyes. Kirby closed the door.

* * *

Pete was sitting on a lawn chair outside when Trent walked out. Trent's shirt was unbuttoned and Pete could see his chiseled chest, and suddenly Pete wished he had something to fan himself with. Trent walked by, presumably not seeing him in the chair. Not believing his own brazenness, he reached out and squeezed Trent's ass as he walked by. Trent yelped and turned around to punch whoever it was, but stopped when he realized it was Pete.

"Hey you," Trent said with a smile.

"Hey," Pete replied. Trent closed the distance between himself and the lawn chair, bending down and kissing Pete. He straddled the smaller boy and they began to make out, Trent grinding his already half-hard erection into Pete's groin.

All things considered, this was probably pretty stupid to do out in the open but they had both had a few drinks and didn't care who saw. And compared to all the people at the party that could have seen them, two of them that did see weren't that bad.

Kirby and Jimmy both watched out a window, albeit on different floors as the two boys rutted against each other, tongues dancing. Both were feeling pangs of lust and jealousy, and both soon crawled into bed with their girlfriends they were having problems with, and fell into a fitful sleep.

However, the third that did see it, felt completely crushed. Beatrice had been staring out the guest room window when she spotted them, and she watched them for probably longer than necessary. She couldn't believe it, how could Pete have not told her! She lay on the bed, angry and upset. She thought she had made a friend in Mandy, who turned out to be just as horrible as ever. Pete, the guy she liked, was probably gay. Beatrice fell asleep, wishing she had just stayed home that night.


	5. The Hangover

Chapter Five: The Hangover

Zoe awoke the next morning on the sofa pull-out with Jimmy's arm around her waist, and she smiled a little as she remembered the previous night. The smile quickly faded however as she remembered she needed to make a decision about pressing charges against Mr. Burton, and that she needed talk to her estranged father. As Zoe mulled over her options, Edgar walked out of the kitchen with a tray of coffees and drinking his own from the local convenience store in his hands.

"Caffeine anyone?" He asked, handing one mug to Zoe and the other to a waking Jimmy.

"Thanks Edgar, I'm glad one of us is a morning person," Jimmy said, rubbing his aching head.

"I don't know what we would do without you," Zoe added. She smiled at Edgar and sipped the warm coffee gratefully. She caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection of the TV. Her new, cropped blonde locks were now mussed. Smeared makeup she didn't have the energy to take off last night. Plus, right before they went to bed, Jimmy seemed a little distant.

"Mandy and the beast still haven't come down yet," Pete spoke up from the armchair across the room, making his presence known and stretching his arms above the throw blanket he was covered under and groaning. Zoe sighed, tossing the sheets off her and grabbing the pants she was wearing the night before off the floor. Edgar averted his eyes and sat on the arm of the chair Pete was in, handing him a coffee as well. Pete sipped and groaned again. Edgar looked down and noticed a hickey on Pete's neck. He caught Pete's gaze and surreptitiously motioned to his neck. Pete's eyes widened and felt the spot, then tried to catch a glimpse of his own reflection in the window across from him.

"I can't believe I let them lock themselves in my bedroom and do God-knows-what all night." Zoe groaned. Beatrice walked downstairs and, after taking the last coffee, plopped into Pete's lap as this exchange went on. It took all Pete's self-control not to push her off. Edgar got up abruptly and walked to the trash can on the other side of the chair, tossing the disposable tray into the bin. He caught Pete's eye again, furrowing his brows and inconspicuously motioning to Beatrice.

 _'Her?'_ Edgar mouthed? Pete shook his head no, and Edgar made a face that seemed to say ' _uh-oh'._ Beatrice turned and looked up at Edgar who smiled like he hadn't just been having a non-verbal conversation about her with Pete. She smiled then turned back to Zoe, and Edgar's smile dropped.

"They were fighting most of the night. I couldn't hear what it was about, then there was a lot crying and it stopped. I've never heard anything like it, especially from a couple that hasn't been together for a while," Beatrice said, shaking her head.

"Well, they can do that somewhere else. They're getting out of here right now-" Zoe carefully got out of the sofa bed to not spill her coffee and walked towards the stairs, but a disheveled Kirby and Mandy met her at the bottom.

"Sorry guys," Kirby said, looking down and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Whatever, if anything's broken in there-" Zoe started but Mandy cut her off.

"Everything's fine, Zoe. Just drop it. We're leaving," Mandy grabbed Kirby by the arm and rather roughly pulled him through the living room, opening the front door, and racing out the threshold.

"Bye guys," And with that Mandy and Kirby left. The remaining people in the room stared at the door that slammed behind them, wondering what the hell just happened.

"Did we just wake up in Twin Peaks?" Beatrice asked to no one in particular. Pete took the moment to gently scoot out from under Beatrice and stand up, clearing his throat.

"Well, we should probably start getting this place cleaned up. Your landlord was kinda annoyed when she left last night."

"She wasn't the only one," Jimmy muttered. Zoe glared at him.

"What's that supposed to mean? Is this why you were acting weird last night?" Zoe asked, her tone wavering on irritated. She drained her coffee and shot it into the trash can. Pete's phone buzzed with a message and he picked it up off the table, suddenly very interested in what was on it. Beatrice was curious, but before she could sneak a peek Pete bolted to the bathroom. She laid back in the chair, disappointed. Edgar stared down at her, judging.

"I just...you never tell me anything Zoe! You didn't tell me anything about why you got kicked out of Bullworth until I had to save the school, and I barely knew anything about your family. I still don't," Jimmy said, getting out of the sofa bed as well. He sat his cup down on a coaster on the end table. Just because he was angry didn't mean he was mannerless.

"Look, I was going to tell you about my family when I was ready. We haven't talked since I got booted from Bullworth, and even then I was already emancipated. That's all there is right now. We don't have a relationship. I don't owe you any other explanation."

"What about your mom? Or why didn't you tell me I've beat up your brother before? " Jimmy asked.

"You did what to Bif? You know what, I don't want know. Bif and I talk a bit. He's helped me out with rent before, we just don't make a big deal out of it because my dad'll get pissed. This really isn't any of your business Jimmy. I don't know why you're so jazzed about it though, you didn't even know me until a month ago," Zoe, agitated, and everyone else just watched the two argue like deer trapped in headlights.

"I'm 'jazzed' because you never tell me anything! I've told you everything and...Pete knows more about you than I do,"

"Nobody asked you to! Do you spill your life story to every single stranger you meet? Also Pete's known me all my life, isn't that right Kowalski? Where is he?" Zoe asked, and Beatrice pointed to the bathroom. She began picking at her nails, wishing to be anywhere else but here.

"You know what? I'm not dealing with this, I've got too much on my plate to even process your crap now," Zoe threw her hands up and stomped upstairs. Everyone was still for a moment, unsure of what to do and a little scared of speaking. After the moment passed, Jimmy hopped up and followed Zoe up the stairs. Edgar cleared his throat and Pete walked out of the bathroom, rubbing his neck.

"What happened, Pete? To your neck?" Beatrice asked, feigning ignorance. Edgar saw panic flash on Pete's face for a brief moment and decided to cover for him.

"Yeah, that spider bite looks better than it did last night. You should have seen it Bea, it was gross. Now, we should probably clear out of here soon and they're probably going to be a while, you mentioned cleaning up Pete?"

Pete nodded at Edgar, and when Beatrice turned her back to start grabbing solo cups off the furniture Pete mouthed a quick _thank you_ to Edgar, who nodded in response.

"I'll grab some more trash bags," Pete said, heading into the kitchen.

* * *

Zoe stormed into her bedroom and Jimmy followed behind her, closing the door quietly. Zoe sat on her bed and buried her face in her hands, letting out of a deep sigh. She was exhausted; knowing she would probably have to testify against Mr. Burton, the mental anguish of having to see her parents after all this time, plus the party the previous night had taken its toll on her. Jimmy knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his.

"I'm sorry, Zoe. I had a weird night too. And I didn't have any right to get angry at you, especially since we haven't been dating that long. I rush into things when I'm with a girl that I really like, because I never really have anything but a passing interest in anybody."

Zoe looked up at him, her brows furrowed.

"You just said like," She said flatly.

"Yeah, I do like you Zoe."

"But you didn't say love. You always say love."

Jimmy stood up and sighed, then walked over to the window, staring out at Zoe's yard.

"I don't know, Zoe. I thought I loved you. I always think I love someone. Damn it, this always happens. The minute I find out someone isn't perfect I just...I turn into a huge jerk."

Zoe turned around and stared at the back of Jimmy's head, he could feel her eyes boring into the back of his skull.

"Are you breaking up with me? Because that would be a really crappy thing to do now."

"Zoe..."

"What Jimmy? God just spit it out already! At this rate I'll be graduated by the time you make your point!"

Jimmy sighed and pounded his fist into the wall, making Zoe jump. He turned around and looked at her, and she could tell from his eyes what he was stewing over wasn't something he wanted to say.

"I-I don't want to break up. But I do think we should slow down. We jumped headfirst into this and I didn't do it with any regard for your issues, and you helped me out a lot. That's not fair."

"Slow down? We haven't done anything Jimmy!" Zoe was scared of what this conversation was turning into. Jimmy turned bright red, Zoe thought for a second it was in anger, but as he started talking again she quickly realized it was out of embarrassment.

"I told you that I love you because I stand at attention when we hug!" Jimmy motioned to his crotch, "That isn't love and I don't want to confuse love with just lust and friendship. Last night I...kinda realized all three can kind of intermingle and complicate things. I want to fall in love with you, I mean, the seed is planted. I really like spending time with you and I get kinda sick to my stomach in a good way because I'm so nervous and god that sounds so lame. I just...I think we should probably slow down on the physical stuff. I want to do this right, you deserve that much."

Zoe sat there for a moment, and Jimmy was scared for a second that he said the wrong thing, but the fears were dashed when a huge grin broke out on her face. Zoe hopped off her bed and gave Jimmy a passionate kiss. Jimmy pulled away after a few moments and she muttered a quick 'Oh, right'.

"That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me Jimmy, and if you ever tell anyone I got sappy like this I'll kill you. You might not be sure you love me, but I think I just figured out that I love you," Zoe said, staring into Jimmy's eyes, and trying to keep hers from crying. Jimmy gave her a sweet grin and pulled her into his arms for a big bear hug.

The two stayed like that for a moment until an unusually chilly breeze for the summer floated through the open window. They separated and Zoe shivered, rubbing her arms. Jimmy moved to close the window and a piece of paper sitting on the desk next to the window flew upwards and hit him in the face. He pulled the offending scrap off his face, and when he read the neat scrawl on it, his smile was replaced by a look of dread. He quickly handed the paper to Zoe, feeling sick to his stomach.

"What is it?" Zoe asked.

"Just read it."

Zoe looked at the paper.

 _You aren't the only one, he messed with me too. I'm so scared he's going to get out and hurt us._

Zoe dropped the paper on the ground in shock and the paper threatened to blow out the open window. The two froze for a second but Jimmy moved quickly to shut the window. Zoe dropped to the ground, the tears that were threatening to fall in happiness were now falling from sorrow.

"Oh my god," Zoe wailed, "I have to go. I have to go now,"

"Where do you need to go?" Jimmy asked, concerned.

"The police station," Zoe replied.

* * *

Gary Smith sat in his cell. His seventy-two hour evaluation over. The doctor was talking to his parents outside, and he could see his mother through the small window on his cell door crying in his father's arms, his father's face stone cold. The voices were muffled and he couldn't really understand what he was hearing other than 'delusions of grandeur' and 'Narcissistic Personality Disorder'.

His father looked into his cell and locked eyes with Gary. For the first time in what seems like years, Gary felt bad that his mom was crying.

After they said their goodbyes to the doctor, his parents came back into his room. His mother gave him a hug and he returned it, holding on for dear life. What he had done was just hitting him, and he was terrified of being here any longer. He just wanted to go home.

"Can I go yet?" Gary asked, looking at both his parents.

"No, son. You can't. The doctors have suggested you stay for your treatment. For the stunt you pulled, they aren't comfortable with outpatient therapy. You're a threat to yourself, and to others."

"No, I'm not. I'm fine just send me to another school or something. I won't hurt anyone else I swear," Gary could tell his parents weren't buying it and panic was starting to settle in.

"It's not that simple, Gary. This isn't like you slashing the neighbors tires or shaving the cat like a poodle, you put kids in the hospital. You were the cause of a school building being burned down."

Gary didn't speak for a moment and his felt like he was going to throw up. How could this be happening? How could they leave him here?

"It was a mistake, a stupid mistake. That's all, I'm fine. I don't even need my meds, just don't make me stay here," Gary pled.

"Do you even feel bad for what you did? The kids you hurt? What the hell, Gary? Didn't we raise you better?" Patricia glared at him, tears in her eyes. His dad turned his back.

"Guess you didn't. Sucks to suck, I would know," Gary said, gesturing to his surroundings.

"Well, maybe they'll do a better job than we did," Charles spoke up.

"Wait, don't-" Gary started but it was too late.

"We'll be back to visit soon honey, this isn't forever. We love you,"

They didn't say anything, they just walked out and Gary heard his mother sobbing as soon as the automatic door to his cell shut. He curled up on the bed and closed his eyes, feeling helpless.

* * *

Early September, 2006.

Zoe Taylor wrapped a towel around herself as she walked out of the showers in the Bullworth Academy gymnasium. She had been late to gym class, and as a result she was to run laps around the football field to make up the time. Mr. Burton had been angry, but the way he was leering at her made her wish she owned a can of mace. She opened her locked and pulled the towel off, drying her hair the best she could then tossed it inside, pulling her clothes out and lazily began putting them on.

She pulled her underwear on and as she hooked her bra she heard a noise behind her. She jumped and grabbed the towel, pulling it back around her exposed body.

"Hello? Is somebody there?" She called.

"Lola, if that's you, I'm borrowing your hair dryer, okay?" Zoe quickly turned the combination lock on Lola's locker and pulled out the hair dryer in question, then made her way over to the small mirror by the showers. She plugged the hair dryer into the socket and began drying her hair. The dryer blocked out the noise of the person sneaking behind her, and she closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of the heat on her hair and skin. When she finished she opened saw a dark figure in the dirty reflection of the mirror and jumped.

"Mr. Burton, you scared me. What are you doing in here?" Zoe asked. She turned around to face him and pulled the towel around her tighter, uncomfortable.

"I have to do the laundry this week for the gym, I didn't know you'd still be in here. You better hurry, you'll be late for lunch," Mr. Burton was leering at her again, and she fought the urge to break his nose.

"I was just finishing up," Zoe tried to get around Mr. Burton but he grabbed one of her shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Zoe asked angrily.

"Are you done with your towel?" Mr. Burton replied.

"E-Excuse me?" Despite her shaky voice, Zoe stood her ground, holding the towel for dear life.

"I'm doing the laundry, remember?" Mr. Burton asked. He reached for the towel and Zoe recoiled back, disgusted and terrified.

"Come on Taylor, I've seen young ladies in less than what you're wearing now. What are you wearing now, exactly?"

"Get the hell away from me you pervert!" Zoe shouted. She took off towards the door to the locker room but an arm caught her around the waist, pulling her back and tossing her into a row of lockers.

"That's not a very nice way to talk to your elders, I don't like being talked to that way!" Mr. Burton shouted back. Zoe cradled her aching arm that had taken most of the impact. She stared at Mr. Burton in sheer terror.

"Now, give. Me. Your. Towel," Mr. Burton said in a firm voice, speaking slowly, stressing every word. Zoe shook her head, cowering, unable to speak.

"I said give it to me!" He menaced towards her and grabbed the towel away from her, ripping it away. Zoe's arms flew to cover herself. Mr. Burton chuckled.

"Please, like you have anything to look at," Mr. Burton said, and just like that, he walked out like nothing had happened. Zoe dropped to the floor, sobbing.

* * *

June 2007

"So he just walked out?"

The voice brought Zoe back to where she was, in Bullworth's police station. It belonged to Detective Alan Kincaid, a handsome man in his early thirties with an intense demeanor that comes with being on the police force for so long.

"Yeah, he walked out and I just collapsed. I was so scared...then I got dressed and went to the principal's office. He didn't believe me and when I started telling people he expelled me for causing trouble," Zoe looked down, fiddling with a hole in her jeans.

"What do you mean by started telling people?" The detective asked.

"I mean I had a complete shit attack and started screaming it in the school foyer, what do you think? I told a teacher, Mr. Hattrick, and he told Dr. Crabblesnitch. That asshole told Dr. Crabblesnitch that I was told him Mr. Burton raped me which isn't what happened!" Zoe was struggling to hold back the tears. Detective Kincaid gave her a warm smile.

"Would you like some coffee?" He asked, "Or tea? Green tea has calming properties, so I'm told anyway,"

"No, thank you,"

Detective Kincaid sighed.

"I shouldn't be telling you this, but you are an emancipated minor so I don't need your parents around. We have another person that came forward, but no evidence. Unless we have something solid...two years ago a few girls made up a rumor and came to us saying that one of the teachers was failing them on purpose because they wouldn't sleep with him. It turns out they were skipping class and leaving campus to go drink during school hours and that's why they were failing. We jumped headfirst into the investigation and it made us look like idiots; there was a huge scandal and it was an embarrassment for everyone involved," Detective Kincaid gave Zoe an apologetic look when he finished speaking.

"I remember that, it was all over the news...are you saying you don't believe me?" She asked in a small voice.

"No, I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying that until we can find a witness to his behavior or maybe another victim, we won't be able to take this to trial. I'm sorry, I really wish there was more we could do. I do believe you Ms. Taylor."

Zoe wiped her eyes to keep the tears at bay.

"What about the note I found in my bedroom? I had a party that night, that note could have been written by anyone, couldn't you check for fingerprints?"

"Unless they're in the system there's nothing we can do. If they don't have a record and they want to stay anonymous, they can stay anonymous. We can't make somebody testify,"

Zoe gave the detective a tired smile and then nearly jumped out of her seat when she remembered something she could use against Mr. Burton.

"My boyfriend!" She exclaimed.

"Pardon me?" Detective Kincaid asked, furrowing his brow.

"He's outside, he told me about a few incidents with Mr. Burton. Once he caught him outside the porn shop in New Coventry!"

"We can't try a man for buying porn, ma'am."

"He told him he was looking for 'naughty little boys'. And he had Jimmy sneak into the girl's dorm and collect 'dirty laundry'."

Detective Kincaid ran his hand through his shaggy brown locks. He reminded Zoe of one of those detectives from a black and white crime movie.

"If you leave we'll have something more concrete. In the mean time, he's not employed at the school. You've said you're taking summer school classes, we can have a patrol car take you to and from school if needed. You'll be safe, Ms. Taylor, don't worry about it. You said your boyfriend was here?"

Zoe smiles appreciatively then furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Yes, why?"

"Would he be willing to go on record about the 'dirty laundry' incident?"

"I think so, yes."

"Then send him in, we need all the testimony we can get,"

Zoe nodded and walked out of the room, giving the detective a tired smile.

* * *

Peter was heading out of Zoe's house when he realized he had no idea what he was going to do next. Jimmy and Zoe had told them they were leaving and to lock up when they left. They cleaned in mostly silence, Edgar trying to keep a conversation going but Pete and Beatrice just would not talk to each other. His head was aching from his hangover and he was completely unsure of how to react to Beatrice's affections, he just didn't return them.

"Hey, Petey, wait up," Beatrice called from the front door, jumping on her bike and heading down to meet him as he walked down the road from Blue Skies to New Coventry.

"Shit," Pete muttered under his breath. He really didn't want to talk to her. She pulled a hair tie off her wrist and began pulling her curls into a loose ponytail. She wasn't really dressed for biking, but she wasn't wearing a skirt for once so that helped.

"Oh, hey, sorry I would have waited, it's just Jimmy and Zoe headed out so fast to go to the police I figured I should head out as well," Pete said. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and wished he had brought a change of clothes with him. His shirt had stains from frosting and beer, and his pants were starting to chafe as he had been working up a sweat in them making out with Trent the night before. He smiled at the memory, almost not believing he had done it. They had made out for what seemed like hours, hands all over each other. After almost getting caught making out on the lawn chair, Trent had dragged him up against the side of the house not illuminated by streetlight and proceeded to rut against him while nibbling on his neck.

"It's fine. Last night got kind of crazy. All the drinking, Mandy and Kirby, and...other stuff," Beatrice trailed off as Pete's pace sped up and she was trailing behind. She had to bite the bullet, for better or for worse, she had to know.

"So what time did Trent end up leaving last night?" Beatrice called after him. Pete stopped for a moment, caught. The feeling of guilt was quickly replaced by anger and he turned around.

"I wouldn't know, you should probably ask Kirby if you can finally convince a guy to give you the time of day," Pete fumed. He was tired of Beatrice acting like this.

"So that wasn't you he was practically mauling in Zoe's front lawn last night? My bad, must have been some other Pete I don't know about," Beatrice snarled.

"What the hell is your problem? I have gone out of my way and all but told you I'm not interested. Why do you think we stopped being friends in the first place? You flirt all the damn time and it is damn near impossible to be around you. I shouldn't have to put up with it, it's not fair. Just like this conversation," Pete turned on his heel and began half-jogging away, but Beatrice caught up to him, jumped off her bike, and pushed him into the tree-line.

"Don't run away from me, this isn't over. You should have told me you're gay Pete, I would have left you alone," Beatrice said quietly. Pete practically shouted his response.

"I'M NOT GAY. I don't know what I am, but that's no excuse. You don't like it when guys do that to you, right? Earnest for example, constantly harassing you? How do you think it makes me feel?"

Beatrice deflated a bit. She knew Pete was right, it wasn't fair to do this. She tucked her curls behind her ear and looked away.

"It wasn't supposed to go down like this Bea. I really wish you had just let me go home. I had this whole grand plan to let you down easy that didn't involve you catching me drunk and making out with the school bully," Pete said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"...Grand plan?" Beatrice said, smirking. She was upset, sure, but if Pete was going to go through the trouble of doing this she might as well her him out. Pete lit up a bit.

"Yeah, I was going to invite you to the carnival. Play some games, go on a few rides. And then maybe, I dunno, come out to you there? I know you're bad at keeping secrets but you never told a soul about Cornelius until he was ready so..." Pete trailed off. Cornelius was, so far, the only openly queer student at Bullworth, and Beatrice had been the first person he came out to. Beatrice smacked him in the shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You ass, I would have thought that was a date! Even though after I came around I would have been totally excited. I probably would have tried to set you up with Cornelius actually, he's a little upset that Kirby is dating Mandy," Beatrice said, pulling out her phone to mock text Cornelius. Pete tried to grab it away from her as she pretended to punch numbers and sang a schoolyard rhyme about Pete kissing in trees.

"Oh my god you suck," Pete finally said. Beatrice put her phone away, laughing.

"Relax, I was telling my mom I was going to be home to shower then I'm leaving again," She said, "I've decided you're taking me to that carnival."

"Oh you've decided, huh?" Pete said, feigning anger.

"Yep, sure did. I want to hear your spiel about being the most tragic sexually confused boy in school. Really it sounds like a hoot. But mostly I just want to pry into your...uh...whatever you have with Trent," Beatrice responded, "If you're okay with that."

Pete froze for a second but felt excited about the prospect. He had missed regular social interaction that didn't involve plots to take over the school. Last night had been a taste of what he was missing, a normal life, and he wanted more.

"That sounds like fun, when do you want to meet?" Pete asked, feeling more and more uncomfortable in his dingy, sweaty t-shirt and jeans as they continued to walk in the summer sun.

"Around six-thirty? The roller coaster is gorgeous at night. We'll have fun, I promise. And now that I know...no more weirdness. I promise," Beatrice stated, crossing her heart. Pete nodded.

"I believe you. See you then, I desperately need a shower. I'll call you!" Pete said and Beatrice shook her head.

"We both live across town, hop on and I'll give you a ride," Beatrice offered. Pete looked conflicted and Beatrice rolled her eyes.

"Crossed my heart remember? No more weirdness," Beatrice said. After a moment Pete relented and hopped on the front, Beatrice looking over his shoulder to see as the two sped on down the road.


	6. Highs and Lows

Chapter Six: Highs and Lows

January 2007

Pete was opening the door to his dorm room when an acrid smell hit his nostrils. He knew the smell, marijuana. Gary occasionally smoked it, he said it calmed him down better than his meds. Pete didn't have any problem with it personally, he didn't want to be labeled a narc by his friends, but he had homework to do and he didn't want to get caught by a prefect; or draw Puff the Magic Dragon on his Algebra assignment.

"Do you have to do that in here?" Pete asked, shutting the door quickly after shooting a quick glance down the hallway to see if there were any prefects lurking about.

"Well where else would I do it little Petey? If you haven't noticed, prefects are everywhere and I'm not about to get kicked out of school for smoking pot. And turn the lights off, they give me a headache."

"Whatever. How did you even get that?" Pete asked, flicking the lights back off.

"Trent Northwick, same as every time. You know that."

"I know that, I said how. He threatened to kick your ass in Algebra last week for not letting him cheat off your paper," Pete tossed his bag down on his bed and unzipped it, taking out the Algebra book he needed. He had shrugged off his Bullworth vest and was unbuttoning his shirt when Gary spoke.

"I promised him something special with you," Gary smirked and Pete stiffened, his face turning red. Could Gary know what happened over Christmas break? He hadn't gone home to his parents but when Pete had come back after having that...encounter with Trent, Gary had nowhere to be found.

"Ew, Gary, that's disgusting," Pete's faced turned sour, and then he rubbed his eyes. The secondhand pot smoke was starting to get to him, and he didn't like where this conversation was heading. He couldn't turn back around to face Gary, his face would give it away, if Gary didn't already know.

"Sure, Petey. Just like you weren't a fluffy queer rabbit for Halloween," Gary snarked.

"I've never done that!"

"Sounds like a lie to me, Petey," Gary sniped, standing up but stumbling a little on his ascent. Pete didn't turn around, his hands gripping his backpack tight.

"N-no, not a lie," Pete stammered, feeling one of Gary's hand rest on his left shoulder, his head leaning down to not-quite-whisper into Pete's ear, all while puffing on the joint. Gary's touch still felt nice, and the secondhand smoke was lowering his inhibitions. Pete leaned back into Gary's touch, tilting his head up to better hear what Gary was saying.

"What's not a lie?" Gary asked, his hand slipping down to Pete's waist.

"M-making out with Trent. I've never made out with Trent," Pete said quietly. From the angle his head was at, he could feel the heat of the joint and Gary's breath on the side of his face, and it felt nice.

"I never said making out, Pete," Gary said, then his hand that had been on Pete's hip shot up and around to grip his jaw, not roughly enough to hurt but enough to keep him in place.

"I went looking for you when you didn't come back to the dorms, didn't want your dork ass to get detention and have to shovel snow over Christmas break," Pete could feel Gary smirk as if to say, _wasn't that nice of me?_

"I saw you and Trent run into that closet so I followed you in, it was kinda dark so you couldn't see in there so well. I ended up hiding behind this giant crate...anyway, I saw him grab you," Gary said, "I knew I was in for a show, I just didn't know what kind. I thought you were just gonna scream or trip or something...but you surprised me Pete. I have to say, I never thought in a million years I'd see you do something like that," Gary chuckled. Pete's face continued to burn in humiliation, but he couldn't bring himself to tear away from Gary.

"The prefect was looking for you, and you were getting off on it. The two of you could have gone all day if he hadn't seen me. You were practically swooning to kiss him, and practically face planted when he let you go! You should have seen your face, really."

Pete didn't have an argument and he could feel his loins stir, but he suddenly wanted the conversation to be over again. It had more than steered into dangerous territory and just because he was attracted to Gary didn't mean Gary wasn't doing this just to mess with him. He mentally wracked his brain for an argument but came up short.

"You made me wear that bunny costume," Pete finally said, lamely. Gary rolled his eyes.

"Yeah but you don't seem to mind being told what to do," Gary spat back, "You could have said no. In fact…"

Pete didn't like the tone Gary was taking. It meant he was going to make Pete do something, and Pete wasn't sure how far Gary would take it while he was high. Pete tried to wriggle out of Gary's grasp but his jaw was just gripped tighter. It started to ache.

"Too late now Pete. Now c'mere, I want to see what else I can get out of you," Gary said, suddenly releasing him, sitting cross-legged on his bed and patting the space in front him for Pete to do the same. Pete obeyed, rather reluctantly, sitting down on Gary's bed, crossing his legs and facing him. The bed was quite small, and their knees were touching.

Gary offered him a hit off the joint and Pete shook his head. Gary rolled his eyes and sighed.

"What can I say, I'm nervous," Pete said, not meeting Gary's gaze. He really didn't want to get caught but this was shaping up to be quite interesting. For the first time since the janitor's closet, Pete felt warm during the winter.

"Well how about this then," Gary mused, "Close your eyes,"

Pete shut his eyes, and felt Gary move across the bed and practically straddle one of Pete's knees. Pete gulped but didn't say anything. Gary's hand reached up and tilted Pete's jaw. Pete started to open his eyes but Gary's hand slipped over them.

"No, not until I say so," Gary said. Pete opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by Gary speaking.

"Don't speak. Yeah, keep your mouth open like that," Gary said, and Pete could feel Gary start to move on his leg.

"What the f-"

"I didn't mean it like that Petey, Jesus Christ. Calm down," Gary insisted, but Pete could feel the heat from Gary's crotch on his leg. He didn't say anything else, just kept his mouth open and his head titled. He felt Gary's face move closer to his own.

"Good, now when I give the signal, I want you to inhale. Do not exhale until I tell you to," Gary ordered. Pete was about to ask what the signal was as Gary took a hit but all thoughts were dashed when Gary's mouth sealed over his and pushed his tongue in, exhaling the smoke into Pete's mouth. Pete inhaled a bit too sharply and wanted to cough. After a moment, Gary sat back.

"Exhale," Gary said, sounding a bit like a yoga instructor. Pete let the smoke out of his lungs and started to cough, opening his eyes. At first faintly, but then he almost fell off the bed. Gary set the joint in his ashtray and grabbed Pete's shoulders, steadying them.

"Good boy," Gary muttered and Pete flushed.

"It's called shotgunning," Gary said, taking another hit. He bent his head to do it again but Pete shook his head. Gary exhaled the smoke and stubbed the joint out.

"So Pete," Gary said, "I feel like we've learned a lot about each other today,"

"We really have," Pete giggled, wobbling around to move his erection to a more comfortable spot in his pants. Gary watched Pete's crotch for a moment then bent over to rummage around under the bed for air freshener when Pete caught a glimpse of blond hair in the window just across the room.

"Oh my god," Pete choked out, the smile suddenly gone from his lips. Through the open blinds, staring back at him, was Trent Northwick.

"Oh yeah, forgot to tell you what exactly I promised him," Gary replied, spraying the air to smell less like burnt trees and more like living ones. He walked over to the window, pulled the open blinds up and opened the window. Trent started coughing.

"Jesus Gary, I didn't realize I gave you the strong shit," Trent said, his breath returning. Gary caught Trent's gaze and cocked his head towards Pete.

"Wanna come in?" Gary asked. Trent froze and then looked around, hearing voices suddenly heading up to the boys' dorm. Pete felt like he wanted to die.

"I-I don't think so. Catch you later Petey," Trent said, shooting one last hungry look at him before moving away from the window. Gary tisked and closed the window. He turned back to face Pete who was buttoning his shirt back up and getting off the taller boy's bed.

"Why did you do that, Gary?" Pete asked in a small voice.

"Do what? You can't get pregnant from kissing Pete, don't worry, you don't have to come up with ways to make yourself miscarry."

"Shut the fuck up Gary," Pete said, his voice now louder, "You know what I meant, why was Trent there watching us? Why did you let him do that?"

"Whoa, slow down there Petey. I'M the bad one? You're the one who's smoking pot and letting boys do things to you. I just told him that I enjoyed his show...and I should show my appreciation by giving him one," Gary shrugged his own shirt off, and Pete just stared at him.

"What, now you want one too?" Gary asked, flexing his arm muscles and posing. Pete just continued to stare, dumbfounded at Gary's actions.

"Are you brain dead? I don't want people watching me when I do that! I didn't know you were watching the first time and if I had I wouldn't have wanted you to! I wouldn't have done anything with Trent! Now he's going to think I'm some kind of perv who gets off on being watched! I can't believe you Gary," Pete was shouting now, close to tears. Gary's eyes widened and shifted around as if to say _Quiet down, we have neighbors._

"Oh what, you invited someone to watch now you don't want the whole dorm to know you stuck your tongue down another boy's throat? I should tell them. Maybe they'll finally learn to steer clear of you," Pete spat, turning on his heels towards the door. He had the door open just a crack when a hand shot out from behind him and slammed the door shut.

"You really wanna get busted right now?" Gary said, his head low and right next to Pete's ear. This had been sexy earlier, but now seemed desperate.

"Stop, Gary. Let me go," Pete said, turning the knob but unable to pull the door open with Gary blocking it. He finally turned around and stared upwards.

"You're not going to tell anyone what just happened here," Gary ordered. Pete looked at Gary like he had grown another head.

"Or what?" Pete challenged, closing the gap between them and getting into Gary's face. He knew this was a mistake, Gary could kick his ass, but at this very moment he didn't care. Gary's eyes darkened and he was suddenly hoisted by his shoulders and tossed into his bed. He hit the floor next to it with a thud.

"Well, let's see Petey," Gary said, menacing towards him. Pete picked himself up, leaping across his bed when Gary reached it. He narrowly ducked the arm that reached across to snatch him back over the side. The bed was now between them, and Gary had a maniacal smirk on his face.

"First of all, you would get your ass kicked by every jock and bully in this school. Trent would probably kill you, that is," Gary vaulted across the bed and tried to grab Pete again, this time latching onto his half-buttoned shirt. Pete pulled away instinctively and the buttons ripped. He almost screamed, falling backwards and backing into the wall behind him.

"If I don't get there first," Gary menaced across the room, walking slowly towards Pete, his hands balled up into fists. Pete shrugged his shirt off and stood up, knees wobbling. He tossed his shirt into Gary's face and bolted past him. He leaped over the bed and almost made it when a strong arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him backwards. Pete planted his feet on the edge of the bed and shoved them both into the wall behind them. Gary hit the wall and Pete's head smacked into Gary's face. Pete heard Gary swear and the arm around him loosen. He wriggled out of Gary's grasp and raced towards the door again.

Somehow Gary reached the door before him. They just stared at each other, their breathing hard. Gary had a nice chest, Pete observed. Gary was pretty built, lean muscle under pale skin, and his nipples were hard.

"What were you going to do Pete? Run off to Jimmy and tell him what I did like you have been for the past couple of months? He hasn't listened to you yet, what makes you think he would now?"

Pete was surprised, he hadn't been subtle but he didn't think Gary knew that he was the one who had been keeping Jimmy informed about Gary's plots, to varying degrees of success.

"I-I.." Pete trailed off.

"Y-you were gonna what? Huh? Spit it out, Pete! I don't have all day, tell me how you were going to betray me," Gary ordered.

"I wasn't, okay, I was just angry!" Pete shouted, "And I have every right to be."

"Again with the self-importance, you're the one who's been running of to Jimmy every time I hatch some plan so if you think about it you're the one who started it," Gary rattled, "and now _you're_ playing the victim. That's rich."

"Jimmy's my friend!"

"Barely, Pete. He doesn't even spend any time with you. And I was your friend first."

"Jimmy doesn't hurt me, he doesn't bully me, he doesn't spy on me, he doesn't try and get me high and vulnerable to fool around with in front of some guy he watched me fool around with for some weird revenge scheme! Why do you do it Gary? Why do you treat me like dirt?"

"Because you let me, Petey," Gary said. He stood there for a long moment, just staring at Pete, then shoved off the wall. Pete thought for a moment Gary would hit him but he just walked past him to the wardrobe, opening it. Pete heard him rustling around inside. A t-shirt hit him in the back of the head and he grabbed it, slowly putting it on.

"You can't tell anyone," Gary repeated.

"Fine, but this is it. I'm done Gary. This stops now. You're not going to treat me this way anymore."

"By all means Pete, stop me if you c-" Gary started but Pete had already grabbed his algebra book and headed out the door.

* * *

June 2007

Beatrice sipped her soda, enthralled in the tale she was being told. She and Pete had found a secluded spot on a bench at the carnival, and Pete had been telling her a story about his rather messed up relationship with Gary. His lips twitched nervously as he gauged her reaction. They had been sitting sideways on the bench facing each other, but Beatrice swung around to face the front as the story swam in her brain.

"Wow," She said simply. Pete mimicked her by swinging around and put his head in his hands, suddenly feeling drained.

"Yeah," Pete replied, and neither spoke for a moment.

"So that was it? You stopped being friends?"

Pete stood suddenly and walked around to the back of the bench. Beatrice scooted back around and looked up at him, pushing her bangs out of her eyes and blinked a couple of times. She didn't want to take the chance of losing her glasses on the roller coaster so she had decided to wear contact lenses that night, and they were starting to irritate her eyes. She opened her clutch in her lap and pulled out some eye drops, holding an eyelid back and letting a drop fall inside. She blinked a few more times to let the drop soak in. Pete watched, equal parts fascinated and horrified at someone's finger being so close to their own eye. After she was done, he spoke.

"Yeah. We never really talked about it again and from what I remember he never bothered Trent about what happened. We had a couple of blow ups after that but they were mostly about Jimmy. Mostly."

"So why do you want to visit him?" Beatrice asked, "He was so mean to you. You have better people in your life than that Petey."

"I know that," Pete said, returning to the spot he had been sitting in previously. A pair of adults was about to cross their path and their voices lowered, keeping an eye on the couple as they walked past.

"I just...I don't think he has anyone to visit him. His parents are never home during the summer so he spends all his time either in front of his computer or at my house badgering me."

Beatrice shifted her weight, she wanted to be a supportive friend, but to suggest Pete go visit Gary in Happy Volts? It sounded like a recipe for disaster.

"D-Do you know that for sure? That no one is visiting him?"

"I don't know for sure. Mrs. Smith told me I was allowed to visit after the initial evaluation was over. Should I? I mean, if he has no one he's really going to go crazy."

Beatrice picked the soda she had put on the ground up and sipped for a moment, hopefully looking like she had a thoughtful expression on her face. Truth was she wanted to stall her answer as long as she could. She could feel Pete staring but her attention soon shifted when Beatrice spotted a familiar couple across the way, waiting in line in front of the roller coaster.

"Isn't that Kirby and Mandy?" She asked, motioning towards the roller coaster. Pete craned his neck to look at them.

"Yeah...Zoe said she wanted to talk to them," Pete said, rising from the bench. He was dusting the popcorn kernels that had fallen on his lap when Beatrice's arm went across it.

"Wait a second," She said quickly, and pointed to a muscular blond boy in a white polo shirt headed towards the jock and the cheerleader. Mandy spotted him first and wrapped her arm around Kirby's, and leaned in to whisper in his ear. Whatever she said made his body stiffen, and by the time Trent had made his way over to Mandy and Kirby, they were standing arm in arm with stoic expressions; like a modern day American Gothic. However, this only lasted a moment. Beatrice and Pete could not hear what was said by Trent, but they did hear the crack of the slap across the face from Mandy that sent him sprawling to the ground.

"Holy shit," Pete exclaimed, his hand covering his mouth at the sight. Beatrice nodded in agreement, sipping her soda again.

"You fucking bitch," Trent said, holding his face where he had been slapped, and Kirby who had been holding her back for the brief moment since the initial strike let her go, instead trying to jump on Trent himself. Trent rolled out of the way and staggered to his feet. Kirby began sending blows towards Trent's face, but Trent was able to move quickly on his feet and trip Kirby up before high-tailing it. He ran past Pete and Beatrice and shot a look of disdain at Pete's choice of company. Pete rolled his eyes and Beatrice felt offended. Kirby followed seconds later and this time a look of disdain was shot at Pete, as well as a middle finger. Pete's brows furrowed again and he raised his arms as if to say _What the hell did I do?_

Beatrice, thinking on her feet, grabbed Mandy as she rushed by and hoisted her backwards.

"Wait stop!" Beatrice said as Mandy wriggled out of her grasp and turned around to swing on the offending carnival patron who dared to grab her like that. Beatrice put her hands over her face.

"Let the boys fight themselves, you'll get yourself hurt if you go after them," Beatrice said, flinching at what she thought was going to be a fist in her face. Mandy was breathing hard, looking absolutely murderously at Beatrice for a moment before finally nodding, her breathing returning to normal after one tense second.

"Pete, go after them," Beatrice ordered. Pete put his arms up in a gesture of _Why the hell would I do that?_

"Just make sure they don't hurt themselves, OK?" Mandy asked, her voice starting to get a little choked up. Pete hesitated for a moment and Beatrice motioned for him to go on. Pete took off and he heard Beatrice tell Mandy that Zoe wanted to talk to her.

"Kirby, stop!" Pete called after, he raced out of the gate, nearly knocking some townies over as he raced into the parking lot. He looked around. It was quiet, moths were buzzing around the street lights illuminating the lot. There weren't a lot of places to hide around here, in fact it was a straight shot through the tunnel back into town. The tunnel was mostly dark, and he didn't want either boy to be hit by a car. He sighed and trudged across the parking lot, and peeked in the tunnel to see if he could hear the two boys fighting or the patter of feet. It seemed even darker than usual as it was a cloudy night, and Pete was cast into shadow. The wind was suddenly knocked out of him by a particularly violent tackle.

"Oof!" Pete yelled as he struggled to wrestle the offending body off of his own. He couldn't see the man's face, only the ski mask and dark clothing he was wearing. The assailant's hands hands were now gripping Pete's shoulders and pinning him to the ground. He was much larger than Pete was, but also had a beer gut and smelled of whiskey. Pete's eyes widened when he realized this could be Mr. Burton. The police had let him out? Why?

"Get off of me! Someone help, please!" Pete yelled as the hands gripping his shoulders brought his body upwards for a moment. He was struggling to get away as he was punched in the face, hard. His head slammed into the pavement. As if acting on its own his body tried to crawl backwards but Mr. Burton's fist caught his face again. Pete was terrified and began trying with all his might to get out from under the much larger man. He felt fingers close around his throat.

"Please, stop," Pete groaned pitifully and he began clawing at Mr. Burton's arms. As if by a miracle, a cloud moved out of the way of the moon in that moment and the two were bathed in moonlight. The bloody mess of Pete's face saw a figure moving behind Mr. Burton and felt the fingers closed around his throat loosen as he heard a blow land on the person on top of him. Mr. Burton dropped like a sack of potatoes onto Pete and Pete screamed, trying to push him off. Pete was successful and he scurried away, his vision not being able to properly focus as he heard Mr. Burton groaning.

"What are you doing here?" Burton yelled, and Pete heard the thud of another blow landing on Mr. Burton. He squinted his eyes and could see a lithe teenage boy with a baseball bat in his hands, swinging at the older man in the ski mask.

"Get out of here before I kill you," Pete heard a familiar voice say that made his spirits simultaneously rise and his stomach drop. It couldn't be, this was all just a hallucination brought on by head trauma.

"Screw you, little piece of shit wasn't worth the effort anyway," Pete watched Mr. Burton skedaddle past him like a bat out of hell down the tunnel when suddenly Pete saw headlights coming from the other end. He was quickly hoisted out of the way, and over the unknown figure's shoulder before being placed on a bench in the parking lot. His head felt woozy and the world was spinning like he was on the roller coaster inside the carnival. He lost consciousness again but could have sworn in his haze he saw a tall boy with a scar on his forehead looking into his eyes with concern.

"Petey, hey, look at me," He heard a voice call and water splash on his face. His vision focused after a moment and he saw Beatrice looking down at him. Well, he saw a lot of people looking down at him actually. He was lying on a stretcher, he observed, and a paramedic was regarding someone he couldn't see with disdain.

"Don't do that!" The paramedic scolded and he heard a girl scoff. Mandy Wiles moved into view and tossed her hair behind her shoulders.

"It worked didn't it?" Mandy cooed and Pete could practically hear hear eyes roll, but he could see the hand that wasn't holding a water bottle was shaking.

"Your parents are going to be here any minute son, did you see who did this to you?"

"I-I didn't see his face," Pete said lamely. It then dawned on him that he didn't have a choice now, he had to visit the asylum. He looked up at Beatrice.

"I have to go," Pete said, and tried to raise himself up. The paramedic shushed him and began pushing him back down.

"No no no, not until you go to the hospital," The paramedic said. Pete huffed, this night was never going to end.


	7. Sunshine Day

Chapter Seven: Sunshine Day

Pete awoke in his hospital bed sometime that night. He felt a lot of pressure in his head, but not much pain; they must have been giving him the good stuff, whatever that meant. He had heard his dad refer to the stuff they gave you in a hospital as 'the good stuff'. An IV line attached to his arm dripped a clear substance, and he felt a bit woozy. After a moment of staring at the ceiling tiles, he tried to sit up, but was greeted by a head rush. It was dark outside, and he wasn't sure where his parents were. Had they gone home? He had been in and out of consciousness since he was brought in. He thought he had seen a police officer in his room earlier. He slowly worked his legs off of the bed, swinging them down, his bare feet touching the cold tile of the hospital floor. The light above him flickered, his small room being bathed in mostly shadows. He used his IV cart to steady himself as he slowly stood up, the head rush coming slower and more manageable this time. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, waiting for the head rush and the nausea that had crept up to subside; then he began walking towards the door. His entire body felt heavy.

He looked into his bathroom and thought about getting some water out of the tap, then decided against it. He didn't want to look in a mirror, he had caught a glimpse of his swollen eyes on the way in and almost threw up. His own appearance would only frighten him. He slowly made his way back to the bed, his clothes were in a small bag on the table next to the bed. He pulled his hospital gown around himself the best he could. He pulled out a dollar from his pants pocket and tried to ignore the smell of blood coming from inside the bag, scared it would make him nauseous again.

He slowly made his way to the door, and even lifting his arm to turn the knob seemed an impossible task. After a moment of difficulty, he pulled his door open. He was expecting the hallway to be better lit than his room, but to his surprise, it wasn't. The lights were flickering there as well. Pete peeked his head outside and observed the nurse's station was empty.

 _Weird,_ Pete thought, _This hallway was a bustle of activity when I came in._

There was a soda machine at the end of the hallway, and Pete set a slow pace down the hall. His IV cart had squeaky wheels, but the noise was strangely comforting, and rhythmic. Something felt off about where Petey was at, and he was creeped out, the only thing keeping him from ripping the IV out of his skin and racing down the stairs and out the front door was the rhythmic squeak of the IV cart. He finally reached the machine and slowly smoothed out the rumpled dollar bill. The arm the IV was jammed into was worse off, it was uncomfortable to do anything with, so using both hands to fix the dollar so the machine would take it was an arduous task.

Pete almost laughed when he saw one of the sodas in the machine, 'Orang-o-Tang'. He remembered when they installed the current soda machine in the common room in the Boy's Dorm, when Pete was in seventh grade. Gary had mimed turning into a giant monkey after drinking it, chasing Petey down the hallway and tackling him once they reached their dorm room, tickling him until Pete was almost crying from laughter. Pete smiled at the memory.

Gary had been in such a good mood that day. They had walked down to Yum Yum Market and bought a tub of Neapolitan ice cream (coincidentally both of their favorite flavor), and stuffed their faces with it. It had been nice to be alone with Gary, they had been walking in a comfortable silence back to the school, when Pete suggested they study for an upcoming math test when they got back to the dorm. He knew Gary had been struggling with their latest assignments. Then Gary got mad and pushed Petey to the ground, accusing him of calling him stupid. Pete frowned at that memory, could Gary have been the one that rescued him tonight? Would he have even cared enough to beat the shit out of Mr. Burton like that? How would he have gotten out of Happy Volts?

A muffled voice behind Pete startled him out of his thoughts and he whipped his head around, much too fast than his body would have liked. He felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and his neck. He could see someone shuffling just in the shadows, down the hall near his room. Pete didn't like that, he felt trapped, like he couldn't get back to his room without interacting with this creepy person.

"H-hello?" Pete called down the hallway. The shuffling figure stopped pacing. They looked up at Pete and then stepped into the light. Pete squinted to get a better look at the person then his eyes opened wide when the figure started moving towards him. Mr. Burton shuffled towards him, the ski mask he had been wearing when he attacked Petey was tattered and torn, the bottom half completely ripped off exposing Mr. Burton's jaw. The top was ripped as well, and what looked like brain matter was seeping through. His clothes were torn, and he was wet.

Pete tried to scream but no sound escaped his lips. The ghostly form of Mr. Burton reached his hands out towards Pete, they were grey and looked like they were rotting, and his fingernails were hard and long like claws. They reached out impossibly far and Pete almost felt them clasp around his throat again when-

* * *

"Petey? Petey!" A voice was yelling, and his body was shaking. Petey awoke to his mother's concerned face staring down at him. Pete blinked, his senses returning him to the waking world. He was in his hospital bed, there was sunlight streaming through the window adjacent him, and his mother was sitting on his bed. There was no Mr. Burton with his brains falling out of his head ready to strangle the life out of him. Only a brightly lit hospital room.

"It's okay sweetheart, it was just a dream," Rebecca Kowalski said, wiping the sweat from her son's face. He was still breathing hard, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He sat up, greeted by a slight head rush he was able to push away, and took in his surroundings.

 _Hospital room, check._

He eyed his mother, who smiled warmly.

 _Concerned_ _mother, check._

He looked at the clock on the wall, it was a little past ten in the afternoon.

 _Where the hell is dad?_

As if reading his mind, his mother shook her head and smiled, "He's not at work, he took the day off. Your father took Zoe to the police station earlier because she didn't have a ride. I had no idea she was the one he..." She trailed off when Pete's eyes widened as if to say _please don't talk about that mom._ She looked down and Pete felt his heart surge when he saw her eyes start to well up with tears.

"Mom please don't, I'm okay I swear-" Pete started but she shushed him.

"Peter please just let me get this out," His mother insisted, the tears were starting to roll down her face. Peter silenced himself, but felt a pang of guilt in his heart for making his mother cry.

A mother should know, and I didn't. I had no idea you were in danger. At the carnival or at school but, horrible stuff has happened over and over again, and it seems like I'm the last to know. It's not fair," His mom dabbed her face with a tissue.

"Mom-" Pete started but she shushed him again.

"No, that's not the point I'm trying to make, I'm not blaming you for keeping me in the dark. I kept a lot of secrets from my parents at your age, I get it. You're entitled to privacy which is why I don't pry," She made a pointed glance toward his cell phone, which was hooked up to a charger on the table. Pete's eyes widened.

"I didn't read anything, swear on my life. I just brought your charger and a fresh pair of clothes. But there is one thing bothering me Peter, why didn't you tell me you were hanging out with Zoe Taylor again?"

Pete furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Why do you care? Zoe's not a bad kid, Mom."

His mom rolled her eyes and squeezed his hand.

"I know she's not a bad kid, Pete. Angela Taylor was my best friend for years. Still is on occasion, though we may never be again now that I know this is the reason they kicked Zoe out."

Pete cocked his head, "This...like, Mr. Burton? Her getting expelled?"

His mother nodded. Pete sat back against his bed, flabbergasted. He couldn't believe it, their daughter had been victimized by a sexual predator and they kicked her out of the house?!

"Anyway, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get emotional," His mother said, wiping her face.

"You don't have to tell me everything. That's fine, I expect that," His mother looked at him pointedly and he looked away bashfully, "But I want to know the good stuff, I want to celebrate it with you."

 _Could she handle that I'm attracted to guys?_ Pete wondered.

"M-Mom I-" A voice interrupted Pete from the hallway.

"Is he awake?" The voice called loudly. Zoe Taylor bounced into the room with Peter's father Joseph in tow.

"Yeah but I kinda wanna go back to sleep," Pete answered, with an over-exaggerated yawn, then stretching and cracking his joints.

"I don't think so buddy, you got a good night's sleep. Now we've gotta get you home," His mother said. Zoe walked up to her and Rebecca broke out into a huge grin.

"Zoe Taylor, look at you, I just..." She trailed off and enveloped the teenager into a warm hug. Pete noticed that Zoe was taken aback but then smiled. The two broke apart and Zoe cocked her head at Pete, grinning.

"So, how's your head?" She asked. Pete giggled.

"I have a few complaints," He answered. It took a moment for the joke to settle across the room and the adults rolled their eyes.

"Okay, let's give Pete some privacy to get changed and we'll go grab breakfast. How do pancakes sound?"

"Oh my god yes," Pete said a little too loudly. He started to get out of bed before he realized he was still wearing a hospital gown, and thankfully did not stand up. His dad handed him a plastic bag with some fresh clothes in it and he took it gratefully. He wasn't going to have to eat hospital food for breakfast? This day was already turning around.


End file.
